


The World Keeps Turning

by sinjinh1



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mpreg, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-02
Updated: 2014-08-13
Packaged: 2018-02-11 12:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 55,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2068350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinjinh1/pseuds/sinjinh1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke and Reid deal with life in Oakdale starting with Chris's illness through whatever life throws at them.  </p><p>This will encompass characters that were on the show up until the end and characters from the past.  If you see someone you don't know who is and want to know, I can tell you.  I watched this show my whole life and am still mad at CBS for taking it off the air.</p><p>This is not a story for fans of Noah Mayer or Damian Grimaldi.  You have been warned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Luke looked across the table at his boyfriend and sat down his fork. “What happened today?”

“What makes you think something happened?” Reid asked.

“You’ve been quiet ever since we left the hospital. In fact, you’ve been quiet ever since you came out of that exam room with Chris. Reid, what’s going on with Chris?”

“I’m not cheating on you,” Reid said as he got a defensive look in his eyes.

“I never thought you were,” Luke said as he reached over and took the older man’s hand. “I also don’t think this is about the Chief of Staff job. The only thing I can think of scares me.”

“What’s that?”

“That there’s something wrong with either you or Chris.”

Reid sighed and looked around Al’s. The diner was starting to get busy as the dinner crowd arrived. “Let’s not have this conversation here.”

Luke nodded as Reid got up and paid Henry for the meal. He sat there for a second then got up to follow his boyfriend. Reid wanted to go somewhere private to talk about what was going on between him and Chris. And he only said that after Luke said he was scared something was wrong with one of the doctors.

When they stepped outside, Luke asked, “Do you want to go back to Katie’s?”

Reid shook his head. “Can we go somewhere we won’t run into anyone we know?”

Luke nodded and led Reid to his car. As he drove, he started to think about what Reid had to tell him. If Reid was sick, what would Luke do? They hadn’t been together for that long but Luke already knew he couldn’t imagine his life without Reid in it. He pulled through the gate and down to the carriage house. As he stopped the car, he looked over at Reid. “This is my grandmother’s property. We’re at her carriage house. She’s at Worldwide so she won’t bother us.”

Reid nodded and they got out of the car and went inside. Luke went over to the couch and sat down. Reid saw the fear in the younger man’s eyes. “I’m not sick.”

Luke let out sigh of relief then his eyes got big. “Chris.”

Reid nodded as he sat down next to Luke. “He has a virus that’s attacking his heart but he won’t let me see what the damage is. He won’t let me tell his parents or Katie.”

“You have to. Bob and Kim have a right to know that their son is sick. And Katie. God, Reid, it hasn’t even been a year since Brad died. I don’t think she could handle losing someone else so soon.”

“I can’t,” Reid sighed. “I’m his doctor.”

“Is there a chart that has his name on it that lists you as his primary physician?”

“No.”

“Has he invoked privilege?”

“Not really. He threatened me though.”

“How?”

“He said he would tell everyone it was my idea to treat him secretly and that I discouraged him from telling anyone because I want the Chief of Staff job.”

“That’s bull,” Luke said as he started to get angry.

“Yes, but with my reputation…”

“No one will believe that,” Luke assured him. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell Bob, Kim and Katie. I’ll tell them that you confided in me about a patient and I figured out that it was Chris. In the meantime, contact whatever cardiologist you think should take care of the idiot.”

“It won’t work,” Reid sighed. “His pride will keep him from getting treatment.”

“Not once his parents find out,” Luke argued. “And let’s not forget his grandmother.”

Reid smiled. “Yeah, I met her. Nancy Hughes may be old and frail but I wouldn’t cross her.”

“Exactly,” Luke said as he stood up. “I’ll call them and ask them to meet me at my office. There’s no chance of running into Chris there.”

Reid got up and took his hand. “Luke, why are you doing this? I didn’t think you liked Chris.”

“I don’t like some of the things he’s done in the past,” Luke clarified. “It was his fault that Bob had his stroke and wound up in a coma. And he broke up my brother’s marriage. But Katie is my cousin now. And she’s finally healing from Brad’s death. For better or for worse, she’s falling in love with Chris and he’s falling in love with her. And Bob and Kim have done so much for me and my family. I can’t let them lose their son because he’s being stupid”

Reid just looked at him for a minute then he kissed him. “You know something Mr. Snyder.”

“What’s that Dr. Oliver?” Luke asked as he grinned.

“I think I’m falling in love with you.”

“That’s good because I think I’m falling in love with you too,” Luke said as they kissed again.

 

Luke made his calls while Reid called the best cardiologist he knew. As soon as he mentioned the patient’s name the doctor said he would take the next flight out. The next morning at 9 AM sharp, Luke led Bob, Kim and Katie into his office. “Would any of you like some coffee?” he asked.

“That would be lovely dear,” Kim said as she smiled at him.

He stepped out to get the coffee and Katie looked at the older couple. “Do you know why we’re here?”

Bob shook his head. “Luke wouldn’t say when he phoned yesterday. I can only assume it has something to do with the new wing.”

Katie nodded as Luke came in with a tray of coffee. He and Katie sat down in the two chairs facing the couch in his office. Bob and Kim sat on the couch. After Luke served the coffee, he began.

“I know you’re wondering why I called you here. I’m about to break a confidence and I need you to hear me out before you say anything. Reid confided in me about a patient he’s been seeing privately. From the way he described the patient I figured out who it is. Chris is sick. He contracted a virus in Africa and it’s attacking his heart. Reid has been trying to get him to see a cardiologist and so far he’s refused. Reid didn’t tell you because Chris swore him to secrecy and threatened to make it look like Reid was the one discouraging Chris seeing a cardiologist. Trust me when I say that Reid would never break confidentiality. I knew something was bothering him and he explained the situation to me without names. Once I figured out who he was talking about, I knew you had to be told and that Chris had to see a cardiologist. So I called you and Reid called the specialist.”

“Why did you want to be the one to tell us?” Kim asked as Bob took her hand.

“Honestly I thought it would be easier to hear this from me. I know Reid can be abrasive at times and I know he’s not your favorite person, Kim. I also know that if it was me, I would want to here something like this from a friend.”

Kim nodded.

Bob was quiet for a minute before he looked at the younger man. “Who did Reid call?”

“I don’t know,” Luke admitted. “I was on the phone with you guys while he was making the arrangements. He picked the specialist up at the airport this morning and took him straight to the hospital to go over Chris’s chart. Reid said he didn’t put Chris’s name on it so it’s not an official chart.”

Bob got up. “Then that’s where I’m going. Kim, call Tom and Margo and have them meet us at the hospital. I don’t know if we should tell Mom right now.”

“I have an idea,” Luke said as he got up. “Why don’t I go find Casey and explain all of this to him? Then he can go with me to tell Nancy. By that time you’ll know who the cardiologist is and we can give her some reassurance that Chris will be all right.”

“Thank you Luke,” Bob said as Kim got up and gave him a hug

“My stubborn son could learn a thing or two from you and your Dr. Oliver.”

Luke just smiled as she followed her husband out of the office. Luke watched them leave then turned to Katie. She was his cousin by marriage and that made her family. If there was anything about the Snyders you could count on it was the fact that they stuck by family. He sat down and took her hand. “Are you okay?”

“Why didn’t he tell me?” she asked with tears in her eyes.

“He knew it would upset you. He knew what you have been through this past year with losing Brad and having to raise Jacob by yourself.”

“But Luke, he knew he was sick and he didn’t listen to his doctor. And he let me fall in love with him.”

“Want to know what I think you should do.”

She nodded and he continued. “Go home. Play with Jacob. Think about how you feel about Chris and decide if you can handle being with him through all of this.”

She nodded and wiped her eyes. “I’ll do that. Tell Bob and Kim I’ll be at the hospital as soon as I can.”

Luke nodded as they both stood and he gave Katie a hug. He watched her leave then he went to find Casey. He found him at Java. He tired not to sigh when he saw his best friend talking to Noah. He walked over to the table they were sitting at.

“Casey, can I talk to you, in private?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure, man,” Casey said as he and Noah got up.

“Luke, I was kind of hoping we could find time for dinner or something before I leave for LA,” Noah said as he looked at his ex.

“I really can’t right now Noah,” Luke said. “There’s something going on right now that I have to give most, if not all, of my attention to. I don’t know how long it’s going to take to resolve.”

He started to leave when Noah grabbed his arm. “Dr. Oliver can’t keep you from seeing your friends.”

“He’s not, Noah. He doesn’t try to control me. What I need to talk to Casey about is very serious and takes precedence over everything else. Let’s go Casey.”

Luke pulled himself free of Noah’s grasp. He led Casey to a quiet part of Old Town. “What’s going on man?” Casey asked.

“It’s about Chris,” Luke said as he explained everything that was going on with his friend’s uncle.

“And he didn’t tell anybody?” Chris asked in shock.

“No. And I don’t know why other than the fact that he told Reid he didn’t want to worry your grandparents.”

“How did Dr. Oliver find out?”

“I didn’t ask him,” Luke admitted. “I did promise your grandparents that I would go tell Nancy. I was hoping you’d come with me.”

“Yeah, of course,” Casey said as they started walking. “Do my parents and Grandma know?”

“I know Kim was going to call your parents. I don’t know about Lisa though.”

“She could help us tell Gran.”  
Luke nodded and they headed for the Lakeview. On the way, Casey called Allison and asked her to go to the hospital and work with Reid on Chris’s case. They found Lisa in her office at the Lakeview and she agreed to help them tell Nancy about her grandson’s illness.

Nancy smiled when the three of them came in. “It’s lovely to see all of you today,” she said as they sat down. “Although Lisa was here for dinner last night. Would you like something to drink?”

“No, Gran, that’s okay,” Casey said as he looked from his great-grandmother to his grandmother. “We came here to tell you something.”

“What’s that dear?”

“It’s about Chris,” Lisa said as she looked at her former mother-in-law.

“What about Christopher?”

“He’s very sick, Nancy. Dr. Oliver says he needs to see a cardiologist to determine just how sick he is.”

“I thought Bob said Dr. Oliver is a neurosurgeon.”

“He is,” Luke said. “I haven’t found out how he realized Chris is sick, but he’s been treating him. And he called a top cardiologist to come exam Chris. They’re at Memorial now.”

“Do you trust Dr. Oliver?” Nancy asked as she looked Luke straight in the eyes.

“Yes ma’am. I would trust him with my life.”

“Good. Now, you boys go be our eyes and ears at Memorial. And tell that grandson of mine that he will do everything his doctor’s tell him or he’ll answer to me.”

Casey and Luke grinned. Casey got up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “We will Gran.”

He went over and gave Lisa a kiss as Luke headed for the door. “Luke,” Nancy called.

He turned back toward her. “I want to meet this young man of yours. Bring him by for tea.”

“I thought you already met him?” Luke asked confused.

“Yes, at Bob and Kim’s anniversary party. But that was as Bob’s new employee. This is different.”

“Yes ma’am,” Luke said as Casey laughed and led him out of the apartment.

“Dude, how did Gran know you were dating Dr. Oliver?”

“I have no idea. Sometimes your great-grandmother is scary.”

They went to the hospital and were surprised to see who the cardiologist was. “Grandpa John?” Casey asked as John Dixon turned from his conversation with a nurse and saw his grandson.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, Lily doesn't come off very well for a while here. She'll come around eventually. And it's up to the reader to decide if she's Noelle Beck or Martha Byrne.

“Casey,” John said as he smiled. “It’s good to see you. This can’t be Luke Snyder.”

“It’s good to see you Dr. Dixon,” Luke said as he shook the older man’s hand.

“You too,” John said as he got serious. “I assumed the two of you are here about Chris.”

They nodded. “I was just about to brief everyone. Let’s go to the waiting room.”

Casey and Luke followed John to the waiting room. Casey sat beside his parents and Allison. Luke smiled a little when he saw Katie sitting next to Reid. He sat on her other side and both men took her hands.

John stood in front of them. “I’ve looked at Chris’s chart and I’ve given him a through exam. I got an MRI and I’ve come to the conclusion that this is not a hopeless situation. The virus has caused some damage to Chris’s heart, but not enough to warrant drastic measures. We have started treating the virus aggressively and once it is out of his system I expect Chris to make a full recovery.”

“Will the virus come back again?” Katie asked softly.

“I don’t think so. I think the reason it came back this time is because he didn’t get proper treatment in Africa. I don’t know how long he had been trying to self medicate before Dr. Oliver intervened.”

“I’m just sorry I couldn’t convince him to tell all of you he was sick himself,” Reid sighed. “He knows I don’t do families.”

Luke gave Reid a small smile. He knew the doctor was just trying to get a little levity into the room.

“When can we see him?” Kim asked.

“He’s resting now,” John said. “Why don’t you get some lunch and come back in an hour?”

Kim looked at Bob, who nodded. “Katie, are you coming with us?” she asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Katie said as she let go of Reid and Luke’s hands and got up to follow the Hugheses.

Casey looked at Luke. “I’ll call Grandma and tell her what’s going on. I’ll take the hit for telling her Grandpa John is back. You get to tell your grandmothers though. Oh, and dude, don’t forget about tea.”

Reid waited until they had all left before he asked, “Okay, I have to know, how is Dr. Dixon connected to this crazy town?”

Luke laughed. “Okay, let’s see. He’s Margo’s father, Casey’s grandfather. He was married to Kim and they have a son named Andy and a granddaughter named Hope. He’s the father of Aunt Iva’s son MJ and he was engaged to Grandma Emma and Lisa. And he was married to Grandmother. Oh, and to Barbara. And he raised Dusty.”

Reid just shook his head. “I need a beer.”

“How about tea instead?”

Reid just gave him a look. Luke grinned. “Nancy Hughes is expecting us for tea. She wants to meet my new young man.”

Reid groaned. “She really said it like that, didn’t she?”

“Yep,” Luke said as they headed to the doctor’s lounge so Reid could drop off his lab coat. “Hate to tell you this Reid, but you live in a small town now. Nancy has known both my grandmothers for years. She watched my parents grow up. She even managed to keep me and Faith distracted when Mom had Natalie.”

“How’d she do that?”

“It was Christmas Eve so she read us The Night Before Christmas.”

“And now she wants to meet me over tea?”

“Think of it as a trial run for my grandmothers,” Luke said as they left the hospital.

They went to tea at Nancy’s while the Hughes family went to Al’s for lunch. Barbara and Henry joined them. “I can’t believe Chris would hide something like this from us,” Tom said.

“Are you sure Dr. Oliver wasn’t the one who wanted to hide this?” Henry asked.

“Henry, I swear, if you say that again…” Katie said as Margo reached out and took her sister’s hand.

“Henry, it wasn’t Reid’s idea to cover this up,” Bob said. “For whatever reason my son decided to keep us in the dark.”

“Luke said Chris didn’t want us to worry about him,” Kim sighed. “I just don’t understand that. He knows how much we love him.”

“It’s my fault,” Katie said softly.

“Oh, honey, you can’t think that,” Margo said as she squeezed Katie’s hand.

“Yes I can. He knows I’m still working through Brad’s death. He kept this a secret and put his life at risk because of me.”

She looked over at Bob and Kim. “I’m sorry. If Chris hadn’t gotten involved with me, he would have gotten treatment sooner.”

Kim smiled at her. “Katie, honey, I hate to tell you this, but you’re wrong. Chris never has wanted to admit when he’s sick. To top it off, he’s a doctor. He will always try to treat himself before he admits he’s ill.”

Katie looked at them and nodded. They finished their lunch and went to the hospital to visit Chris. After he had been thoroughly scolded by his parents and brother, he apologized for keeping his illness from them. He promised that he would follow John’s orders to the letter. Then he asked to speak to Bob privately.

Kim gave him a kiss on the forehead before they left him alone with his father. Chris looked at Bob for a long time before he spoke. I’ve been thinking a lot about the Chief of Staff job. I was hurt when I found out you had offered the job to Reid. I always thought when you retired I would get the job. Not that I ever thought you’d retire.”

They laughed a little and Chris continued. “I know I have screwed up in the past. I know that I have disappointed you. I don’t think I deserve the Chief of Staff job. At least not yet. I know you’ve made the decision to retire and I know the hospital needs a leader. For better or for worse, that leader should be Reid.”

Bob was surprised. “I never thought I would hear you say that. I know your rivalry with Reid goes back to medical school. In a lot of ways the two of you remind me of myself and John.”

“Lord help us,” Chris laughed. “Although I can guarantee that we’ll never be romantic rivals.”

“Somehow I can’t picture you and Luke as a couple. Or Reid and Katie.”

Bob looked at his son for a long moment after they laughed. His voice was serious when he continued. “Christopher, you are my son and I love you with all my heart. You and your brothers and sisters have brought great joy to my life. I know Andy isn’t my son biologically but I love him just as if he were. I know I have been hard on you but that’s because I see your potential. That’s been unfair to you. I won’t give Reid the job if you honestly want it. I’ll leave it up to the board.”

“No, Dad,” Chris said as he shook his head. “I need to give myself time to truly recover from all of this. I need to work on my relationship with Katie. I kept her in the dark as well as you and Mom. I need to earn all of your trust back. I can’t do that and worry about running the hospital at the same time.”

Bob nodded. “I respect your decision. I’ll let you get some rest.”

Chris nodded as Bob left.

 

After Luke and Reid left Nancy’s, they went to Lily’s house. Luke got Reid a beer and a water for himself before he joined Reid on the couch. “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it,” he said as he smiled at Reid.

“It was interesting,” Reid said as he sipped his beer. “Nancy Hughes is quite a lady.”

“Yes, she is.”

“I am curious about something though.”

“What’s that?”

“If your grandmother has that nice carriage house, why do you still live here? You could live there rent free.”

Luke sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time.”

Luke got up and went over to a photo album Lily had sitting on her desk. He picked it up and found the pictures he was looking for before he handed it to Reid.

“What’s this?” Reid asked as he put down his beer.

“Noah’s wedding,” Luke said as he sat down in the chair.

Reid’s eyes go big. “What do you mean his wedding?”

Luke closed his eyes for a minute. When he opened them again, Reid could see the lingering hurt in the younger man’s eyes. “I told you about Noah’s dad,” Luke started. “When Reid nodded, he continued. “Not long after Colonel Mayer went to prison this girl showed up. Her name was Ameera and the Colonel had helped her and her mother while he was in Iraq. Long story short, her visa was about to expire. Grandmother had contacted an immigration lawyer but Immigration was going to deport her. Noah decided that the only way to make sure she could stay in the country was to marry her.”

Reid looked at the pictures. “Was the wedding at the farm?”

Luke nodded and Reid noticed one picture in particular. “Tell me you weren’t the best man.”

“Wrote his vows too.”

“Whose brilliant idea was that? No, wait, don’t answer that. It was Mr. Mayer.”

Reid closed the photo album and set it down. “They lived in the carriage house?”

“Not at first,” Luke sighed. “They were staying at the farm until an ICE agent showed up to investigate the situation. They moved to the carriage house to make it look like they were a real couple. I wound up having to pretend Casey was my boyfriend to keep up the charade.”

“I don’t need to know all the details but I assume that he’s not married to her anymore.”

Luke shook his head. “They had the marriage annulled and she moved to California with some relatives.”

Reid moved to the end of the coffee table in front of Luke. “Luke, look at me.”

Luke lifted his head so he could look Reid in the eye. “I am not Noah Mayer. I’m not nice enough to marry some girl so she can stay in the country.”

Luke laughed a little. “I know. I just thought you should know why I won’t ever live in the carriage house. I did move out for a while though. Noah and I had an apartment.”

“What happened?”

“Dad was presumed dead in Kentucky. Mom was a wreck and someone had to keep an eye on the kids.”

“You are too noble for your own good Mr. Snyder,” Reid said as he leaned over and kissed him. “But there will come a day when we move in together and your family’s dramas will not overwhelm you. If we’re going to do this and we’re going to succeed, we have to make sure that we work together. That means I step up to help you with your family and you keep me from torturing nurses.”

Luke smiled. “I think I can handle that.”

 

The next morning, Luke decided he would head to his office to get some work done for the foundation. He also wanted to set up a meeting with Lucinda and Dusty about the future of Grimaldi Shipping. He knew he couldn’t run that massive of an operation by himself but he didn’t trust any of Damian’s people to run it for him. 

He had been at work for an hour when he heard a knock on the door. “Come in,” he said as he heard the door open. He finished reading the file he had opened and look up. “Noah,” he said surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“I made an appointment,” Noah said bitterly. “It seems like that’s the only way I can talk to you anymore.”

“Noah, that’s not fair,” Luke said as he closed the file and stood up. “You didn’t want to talk to me for a long time after we broke up and now you’re desperate to see me. I can’t be at your beck and call. I have responsibilities to deal with, not to mention a boyfriend.”

“Oh, yeah, the boyfriend,” Noah glared. “The reason you couldn’t give me five minutes of your time yesterday.”

“I told you I was dealing with something that demanded my full attention.”

“But you could talk to Casey about it.”

“Because it involved him and his family,” Luke argued, then he sighed. “You’re probably going to hear about this soon anyway. Chris Hughes is sick, very sick. I was involved in telling his family. I came to find Casey yesterday so I could tell him and help him break the news to his great-grandmother.”

“And Dr. Oliver’s Chris’s doctor,” Noah assumed.

“Reid was treating him, yes. But he’s turned the case over to Dr. John Dixon.”

“Because it was too boring for him.”

“No, Noah, because he’s not a cardiologist. Chris is fighting a virus that’s attacking his heart. Dr. Dixon is one of the best cardiologists in the country. He also has a history with the Hugheses. Now, what do you want to talk to me about?”

“I’m leaving for LA soon and I want you to go with me.”

“Excuse me?” Luke asked.

“I want you to go with me,” Noah repeated.

“Are you forgetting about the fact that we broke up and I’m in a relationship with someone else?”

“I made a mistake when I pushed you away, I admit that. But we had something special. You still love me, I know you do. Dr. Oliver can’t give you what I can.”

“What’s that?”

“Love. I don’t think Dr. Oliver is capable of that.”

“And you are Mr. Mayer?” Reid asked from the doorway. Neither man had heard him come in. “Is that what caused you to ask him to be your best man and write your wedding vows? Love? Cause I don’t call that love.”

“Luke understood why I married Ameera,” Noah said as he glared at Reid. “Not that this is any of your business anyway.”

“I’m pretty sure you made it my business when you asked my boyfriend to go to Los Angeles with you,” Reid argued.

“I still love Luke.”

“So do I,” Reid said as Luke looked up at him. “I love Luke more than anything in my life.”

Noah laughed. “You don’t love anything more than you love your precious career.”

“If, for some reason, I couldn’t pick up a scalpel again it would change my life, yes,” Reid acknowledged. “But it wouldn’t hurt nearly as much as it would if I lost Luke.”

“Do you really mean that?” Luke asked.

“You know me, Luke,” Reid said as he looked his boyfriend straight in the eye. “I never say anything I don’t mean. This was not the time or the place I planned on telling you that I love you, but I love you. There, I said it, and I’m not taking it back.”

Luke just smiled as Noah turned to face him. “Luke, you know how I feel about you. Come with me to LA. We can make this movie together.”

Luke laughed a little. “Yeah because our last collaboration worked so well. Noah, I can’t go to LA with you. I have responsibilities here. No, it’s not that I can’t go with you, I don’t want to. My life is here. The man I am hopelessly in love with is standing right over there. You were my first love, and what we had was special, but it’s over. It’s been over for a long time. I think you know that deep down.”

“Lily said you would agree to come with me,” Noah muttered.

Luke looked at Reid then back at Noah. “What did you just say?”

“Your mother wants you to go to LA with the good boy,” Reid growled.

“Noah, I don’t know what my mother told you but the two of you need to accept the fact that I am in a relationship with Reid and nothing either of you does is going to change that.. I was hoping we could be friends. That’s something you’re going to have to decide. But right now you need to go. Goodbye Noah.”

Noah looked like he was about to say something but he saw the look on Luke’s face. He just nodded and turned to walk out of Luke’s office. He paused at the door and looked at Reid. “You better not hurt him.”

“I’ll do my best not to Mr. Mayer,” Reid said as Noah left.

Reid turned to Luke and saw the anger in the younger man’s eyes. “Okay, can I just say I’m glad I’m not your mother right now?”

“I can’t believe she sent Noah over here to take me to LA,” Luke said angrily.

“She likes him,” Reid shrugged. “And I don’t always make a good first impression.”

Luke laughed a little. Then he sighed. “What am I going to do? I don’t think I can live in her house knowing that she basically sent Noah here to break us up. There are way too many people at the farm right now and there’s no way I’m living with Grandmother.”

“Move in with me,” Reid said as he looked Luke in the eye. “Get your things and come home with me.”

“Reid, you live with Katie,” Luke laughed.

“Yes, I do,” Reid confirmed. “We can move your things in there for now and look for a place together.”

Luke just looked at him. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life,” Reid said as he kissed Luke.

They were still kissing when they heard someone clear their throat. Luke laughed as he said, “Hello Grandmother.”

Reid winced a little before he turned around. “Hello Mrs. Walsh, Mr. Donovan.”

“Dr. Oliver,” Lucinda said with an amused smile on her face. “Are we interrupting something?”

“No, I was just leaving,” Reid said. “I have to check in with Dr. Dixon anyway. I’ll see you later Luke.”

Luke just nodded as he took in the look on Lucinda’s face. “I was going to tell you that Dr. Dixon is in town,” he said after Reid left and they went to his desk.

“I assumed you would,” Lucinda said as they took their seats.

“I assume John’s here to see a patient,” Dusty said.

“Yeah, he’s treating Chris Hughes,” Luke stated. “He only got into town yesterday and he was at the hospital most of the day. He’s staying at the Lakeview.”

“I’ll give him a call later,” Dusty said with a nod. “So, what is this about Grimaldi Shipping?”

Luke explained to them that he didn’t feel comfortable running the corporation on his own. He felt it would benefit everyone involved if he sold the company to Worldwide. Lucinda was practically salivating at the idea of getting her hands on the shipping company. Dusty said he would have Worldwide’s lawyers draw up an agreement that would be beneficial to Luke as well as Worldwide.

After the meeting, Luke went to his mother’s house. He went straight to his bedroom and packed his clothes. He put his journal in his laptop bag and took everything downstairs. He was getting his CD’s packed when Lily walked in. He looked up at her. “I thought you were supposed to pick Ethan and Natalie up from school.”

“Your dad’s taking them to the farm today,” she said as she took in the scene before her. “What’s going on?”

“I’m moving out,” Luke said as he straightened up.

“You’re going to LA with Noah?” Lily asked hopefully.

“No, Mother, I’m not,” he said as he glared at her. “I’m moving in with my boyfriend. You remember him, he saved your latest project’s life.”

You’re moving in with Dr. Oliver?” she said surprised.

“His name is Reid. And yes, I am moving in with him. In fact, he’s probably expecting me. I need to get this stuff to my car.”

He picked up the box with his CD’s in it and started to walk past her. “Luke, wait,” she said as she reached out and touched his arm.

“Why should I?” he asked. “You made it perfectly clear whose side you’re on when you told Noah that I would go to LA with him. I’m surprised you haven’t already shipped my stuff to California.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Neither is sending Noah to convince me to go to LA with him. It’s like you have no clue what’s going on in my life. I am in a relationship with Reid. I love him and he loves me. And you know what Mom, he doesn’t care who knows. He doesn’t care if I kiss him in front of people. He’s not afraid to actually tell me how he feels. Noah and I have been over for months. We were in trouble before his accident. If you can’t accept that Reid is in my life now, that’s your problem.”

He took his CD’s out to his car then came back fro the rest of his things. Lily had moved to the couch and there were tears in her eyes. He had just shouldered his laptop bag when she spoke.

“You would really choose Dr. Oliver over your family.”

He sighed and he turned and looked at her. “I’m not choosing Reid over my family. I’m just not letting you dictate who my boyfriend should be, just like you’ve done for years with Grandmother. You have to understand that I’m an adult now. I can make my own decisions. I fell in love with Reid and no matter how many times you throw Noah in my face that’s not going to change. You need to decide if you’re going to be able to accept Reid in my life. You need to realize that you can’t make decisions for me anymore. I’m not Ethan’s age.”

“I know you’re an adult, Sweetie,” she said as she got up and walked over to him.

“You haven’t been acting like it lately. Wait, I take that back. You haven’t been acting that way where Reid and Noah are concerned. But if you need someone to take care of the kids while you chose between Dad, Damian and Craig, then I’m an adult.”

“That’s not fair.”

“No, it’s not. But neither is how you’ve been treating Reid. You have a lot of thinking to do and Reid’s expecting me. Goodbye Mother.”

He left Lily standing there, put his things in the car, and left. He stopped at the first corner and sighed. He wondered if he had been too hard on his mother. He knew she was wrong in sending Noah to see him. He just hoped she could see that in time.


	3. Chapter 3

He smiled as he got to Katie’s. This was a new start for him and he was happy about it. He grabbed his laptop case, suitcase and box of CD’s and made his way to the door. When he got there he laughed as he remembered that Reid hadn’t given him a key. He rang the doorbell.

Katie smiled when she answered. “Reid forgot to give you a key didn’t he?” she asked as she let him in.

“I think we should be grateful he let you know I was coming,” Luke said.

“I ran into him at the hospital when I went to see Chris,” she said as Luke set his things down. “He told me what happened with Noah. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said as he sat down on the sofa. “I think the thing that’s bothering me the most is that my mother sent Noah to break up me and Reid. I could have handled it if he had come on his own.”

“Yeah I don’t know what I would do if my mother suddenly decided to mess with my love life.”

“Well, I don’t know about your mother, but mine should figure out her love life before she starts messing with mine. Did you know she’s started seeing your brother?”

“What?” Katie asked shocked. “Craig is seeing Lily?”

“That’s what they told Carly when she saw them together.”

“I think I’m going to have a long talk with my brother after Chris gets out of the hospital.”

“How is he doing?”

Katie sighed. “John says he’s starting to respond to the treatment. Kim brought Nancy to see him today. She told him off for keeping this a secret.”

“Good for her,” Luke laughed. “I know I wouldn’t want to be on the bad side of Nancy Hughes.”

Luke’s phone rang. “I have to take this. It’s Abigail. She’s coming in for Dad and Molly’s wedding next week.”

Katie nodded as Luke answered his phone. He talked to his sister for a few minutes then hung up. He sighed. “I have to tell Dad that Aaron’s not going to make it.”

“Why not?” she asked concerned. She knew Aaron’s history with Chris and Allison and hoped he wasn’t missing his father’s wedding because of that.

“Aunt Julie had another relapse,” Luke explained. “I’m not sure he wanted to come anyway. He and Molly have never really gotten along. He thinks Mom and Dad should get back together. At least that’s what he said when I called to tell him Dad was alive.”

“He never wanted your dad to get back together with his mom?”

“Dad and Aunt Julie were never really together. Aaron knows that. He also knows that Uncle Caleb and Aunt Julie love each other very much. He just thinks Molly would be better off with someone who would love her heart and soul.”

"Sounds like you feel the same way," Katie observed.

“I don’t know,” Luke sighed. “I like Molly. She’s been really great with Natalie and Ethan. She helped Faith with her issues when Mom and Dad couldn’t get through to her. I know that she and Dad love each other. I just think everything happened too quickly after that congressman died.”

“So do you think they should get married?”

“I just finished telling my mom that I’m an adult and I should make my own decisions. I think it would look bad if I told my dad what to do with his love life. I do think it’s good for my parents to be apart though. It’s so confusing growing up not knowing if today is the day your parents are going to break up or get back together.”

“Yeah, I didn’t have to deal with that,” Katie sighed.

“How old were you when your dad died?” Luke asked.

“I couldn’t have been more than two or three. Margo and Tom named Casey after him.”

“Yeah, I think he told me that once. I just thought of something. Your relationship with Chris has got to be a little strange for Casey.”

“Why is that?” she asked as she gave him a look.

“Well, you’re his aunt and Chris is his uncle.”

Katie laughed. “You’re right. I never thought about it like that. But hey, I did marry two brothers so this isn’t the strangest relationship in my life.”

“Or the strangest one in Oakdale. I think my parents might have that one.”

“Yeah, run that one by me again,” Katie said as the door opened and Reid walked in.

Luke got up and went over to him. “You forgot to give me a key.”

“I didn’t forget,” Reid denied. “I just got distracted when we were interrupted by your grandmother.”

“Do I want to know what you two were doing when Lucinda interrupted you?” Katie asked, grinning as she looked at them.

“We were just kissing,” Reid glared at her. Then he looked at Luke. “Waiting for me before you take your things into the bedroom?”

“Not really,” Luke grinned. “Katie and I were just talking.”

“Uh oh, maybe having you two in the same house wasn’t such a good idea after all,” Reid said in mock horror.

“Behave Reid,” Katie said as she got up. “I’m going to check on Jacob then I’ll start dinner. You guys can get Luke’s things put away.”

“Yes Mom,” Reid teased as he grabbed Luke’s box of CD’s. “Where are your books?”

“I didn’t have time to grab them before my mom came home,” Luke explained as he followed Reid. “Besides, I figured it could keep until we find a place of our own.”

Reid smiled as he set the box on the bed and pulled Luke close. “Our own place. I like the sound of that.”

“So does that mean I’m totally forgiven for blackmailing you into coming to this one horse town?” Luke grinned.

“You’re getting there,” Reid said as he kissed Luke.

They got Luke’s things put away and went back out to the living room. Katie finished getting dinner ready and they joined her at the table. “So,” Reid said in between bites, “what were you two talking about when I came home?”

Katie grinned as Luke rolled his eyes. “We were talking about Luke’s parents and their strange relationship,” she said.

“Oh you mean the fact they can’t seem to decide if they want to be married to each other or not?”

“No, I mean the fact that technically he’s her uncle,” Luke said as Reid nearly chocked on his drink.

“Excuse me,” Reid coughed.

Luke sighed. “Okay, let’s see if I can explain this. Dad’s sister Iva was sent to Grandpa’s brother’s farm. They had done it before with Uncle Seth. Kind of a rite of passage, I guess. Anyway, Josh, Dad’s cousin, raped Aunt Iva. She ran away from the farm and couldn’t bring herself to come home, especially after she found out she was pregnant. She gave birth to twin girls. Grandmother adopted Mom and Joe DeAngelo and his wife adopted Aunt Rose. When Mom and Dad met, Aunt Iva realized Mom was one of the babies she had given up. Then Josh showed up. Somehow Aunt Iva confessed that she and Josh were Mom’s biological parents. Mom and Dad had been dating and that led Grandma Emma to make a confession of her own. Aunt Iva was adopted. And it turned out Josh wasn’t Dad’s biological cousin either. His Mom had an affair with Cal Stricklyn.”

“The oil guy?” Reid asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“You really are a trust fund baby.”

“Are you saying you know my great-grandfather?”

“He donated to the hospital in Dallas I worked for a few years ago. Specifically the pediatrics unit. He made sure they had new dialysis equipment. Said his great-grandson had a kidney transplant. When he made the donation to the hospital, he was joined by his son. I thought his son looked too young to be a grandfather.”

“Aunt Iva was 14 that summer,” Luke said. “I think Josh was fifteen. He had been abused by his step-father and didn’t know not to use violence. He went through therapy with the help of Frannie Hughes and Aunt Meg. He and Mom have become pretty close. It took Aunt Rose longer to forgive both Aunt Iva and Josh.”

Reid just shook his head. “I knew this town was strange.”

Luke just laughed. “At least I didn’t send you running for the hills.”

“I don’t scare that easily,” Reid said as Katie got up.

“I’m going to go by the hospital and see Chris. Do you two mind watching Jacob for me?”

“Not at all,” Luke said as he got up and started to clear the table. “Does he still need his dinner?”

“Yeah. He got his nap late so he’ll be hungry soon.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Luke promised as Katie left.

Reid watched Luke as he cleared the table. “So what should we do until the drool patrol wakes up?”

Before Luke could answer, Jacob started to cry. Luke just laughed as Reid hung his head in defeat. “You go get him while I get his bottle ready.”

“You know she’s started feeding him that baby food crap,” Reid said as he got up.

“Yeah, I know. The bottle will help keep him calm while I get the rest of it ready.”

Reid just nodded and went to get Jacob. Luke got the bottle ready and gave it to Reid as he came back in with the baby. Luke picked out some baby food and turned to face Reid and Jacob.

“Give him to me and I’ll feed him.”

“I’ve fed him before.”

“You’ve fed him this stuff?” Luke asked as he held up the jars of baby food.

Reid sighed as Luke put the jars down and took Jacob from him. He watched as Luke sat down and put Jacob in the crook of one arm and started to feed him. “How do you know how to do that?”

“I had to take care of Ethan a lot when he was a baby,” Luke said as he shrugged a little. “Mom and Dad had a lot they were going through and Faith and Natalie were too little to help.”

“You’ve spent a lot of time taking care of other people,” Reid observed.

“They’re my family. What was I supposed to do?”

“Not have the responsibility of three kids when you were just a kid yourself. We’ve talked about this.”

“I know,” Luke said, not taking his eyes off of Jacob. “Maybe now that Dad’s marrying Molly all three of them can focus on being parents again.”

“As long as they remember you’re their son, not their nanny, I’ll be a happy man,” Reid said as he sat there and watched Luke with Jacob. “You really are great with him.”

“Yeah, well, like I said, I helped take care of Ethan.”

“You ever thought about it?”

“Thought about what?” Luke asked as he looked up at Reid.

“Thought about having kids someday,” Reid said softly.

“Have you?”

“Let’s just say I’ve been giving it some actual thought recently.”

Luke smiled a little. “I have to admit, I hadn’t really given it much thought until recently myself.”

“You and Mr. Mayer never…”

“Reid, Noah and I barely talked about our relationship. Kids never came up. And besides, can you picture Noah as a father?”

“Not really. Of course I never pictured myself as a father either.”

“Yeah, I guess you have a point,” Luke said as Jacob indicated he was finished eating.

Luke got Jacob cleaned up while Reid cleaned up the kitchen. After they played with the baby a little bit, Reid put Jacob to bed.

As the days passed, Katie, Reid and Luke got into a routine. Reid and Luke were looking for a place to live but didn’t mind helping Katie with Jacob in the meantime. After Chris was released from the hospital he started coming over to spend time with Katie and Jacob.

Luke had dragged Reid to Holden and Molly’s wedding, which went off without a hitch. Reid had actually been able to bond with Ethan and Natalie a little. He was impressed with the way Abigail stood up to Lily when she tried to crash the ceremony and he took Faith’s side when she insisted on remaining at the farm while Holden and Molly were on their honeymoon.

“There are plenty of adults living here, Ms Walsh,” he had argued. “Not to mention the fact that her cousin is here and her older sister. She is old enough to make this decision for herself.”

Holden had thanked Reid for stepping forward to support Faith. He was relieved to hear that Luke was finally moving on with his life. “Don’t get me wrong,” he had told Reid. “At first I wasn’t sure about you seeing my son. But I see something in Luke when he’s with you that I haven’t seen in a long time. He’s happy with you. He hasn’t been happy in a long time. However, I’ll tell you something right now, if you hurt him…”

“I think I know what you’re going to say,” Reid had stopped him. “I will do everything in my power not to hurt him.”

Holden had nodded and rejoined Molly for the reception.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the funeral I think Nancy Hughes deserved. She was one of the best loved characters for the 50+ years that ATWT was on and as intimate and nice as what they did was, she deserved a better tribute.

Now Reid was finishing up his rounds when he saw Bob standing in the hall looking a little lost. He went over to the older doctor. “Bob? Is something wrong?”

“I just brought my mother in,” Bob said softly.

“Is Nancy all right?” ‘Reid asked, concern for the elderly woman suddenly overwhelming him.

“She’s dead,” Bob said as he looked at Reid.

“Let’s go to my office,” Reid said as he led Bob down the hall.

Reid sat Bob down in one of the chairs facing his desk. He went over and got a glass of water and handed it to Bob before he sat down in the chair next to him. “What happened? Luke and I were just over there yesterday. She liked for us to come by once a week for tea.”

Bob smiled a little. “That sounds like Mom.”

He sighed and took a sip of his water. “I went over there for lunch and she didn’t answer the door. I went in and went to her bedroom. She was laying down and I thought she was still asleep. I couldn’t wake her up.”

“You called for an ambulance and had her brought here,” Reid concluded.

Bob nodded and Reid reached out and took the hand of the man who had become a mentor and a father figure to him. “Do you want me to go down and pronounce her?”

Bob looked at him for a minute. “I wouldn’t let Dr. Lucas do it and I couldn’t.”

“I understand. I can take care of her for you.”

Bob nodded and Reid got up. “Stay here. If I see Dr. Stewart or Dr. Dixon I’ll let them know what’s going on. And I’ll ask them to keep it to themselves until you can tell your family.”

“Thank you Reid,” Bob said as Reid nodded and went down to the exam room where Nancy Hughes was.

The hardest thing a doctor ever had to deal with was the loss of a patient. If that patient was a family member, the guilt a doctor felt increased ten fold. As Reid took the incomplete death certificate from the nurse waiting in the room, he felt all of those emotions and more.

A year ago he had never heard of Nancy Hughes or Oakdale, Illinois and he was happy with that. Now he was signing the death certificate of a woman who had become very special to him. He made arrangements for Nancy’s body to be taken down to the morgue until Bob told what funeral home would be handling the services.

As he made his way back to his office and Bob, he found John and Susan and told them. John said he would take care of informing the hospital staff. Susan said she would make sure that Bob’s shifts were covered. Reid went in his office and sat beside Bob. “Everything’s taken care of here. Williams will take care of Nancy until you give them the name of the funeral home. John and Susan are going to take care of the hospital. Let me take you home.”

“Kim’s at Tom and Margo’s,” Bob said as he sat his empty glass down. “Casey and Allison got engaged again and she was going to help make wedding plans.”

“All right, we’ll go there then,” Reid said as he stood up and took off his lab coat. He waited for Bob to join him and they headed to Reid’s car. 

When they got to Tom and Margo’s, Reid went in with Bob and stood there as the older man told his family they had lost their matriarch.

“I’ll go to the Lakeview and tell Mom,” Tom said after he got over his initial shock.

“I’ll go with you,” Margo said.

“Bob, I’m going to head home,” Reid said as Bob looked over at him. “I’ll tell Katie about Nancy and if Chris is there I’ll let him know as well. Do you want him to come here or to your house?”

“We’ll probably head over to our house,” Bob said. “I have to call my brother and sister. Not to mention Frannie, Sabrina and Andy.”

Reid nodded. “I’ll send him over there then.”

Kim went over and gave Reid a hug. “Thank you for taking care of Mom and Bob.”

Reid just nodded and left. Katie and Chris were sitting on the couch when he came in. “Hey,” Katie smiled. “I thought you were working.”

“I was,” Reid said as he looked at Chris. “There’s no easy way to say this. Chris, your grandmother passed away today.”

“What?” Chris asked as he got up.

“Your father found her when he went to have lunch with her today. He had her brought to the hospital where he asked me to pronounce her. He told me to tell you that he and your mother are going to their house to call your sisters and brother.”

“I’m going over there,” Chris said as he got up.

“I’ll go with you,” Katie said, then she stopped.

“Go,” Reid said. “I’ll take care of the munchkin.”

Katie nodded and followed Chris out the door. Three hours later, Reid was sitting on the floor playing with Jacob when Luke came home. “Hey,” Luke said as he went over and kissed his boyfriend. “I didn’t expect you home so soon. 

“Bob needed me to help him deliver some bad news,” Reid said as Luke joined him on the floor.

“Not Chris.”

Reid shook his head. “Chris is fine. It’s Nancy.”

“Oh no,” Luke said as he sat back against the couch. “Katie went with Chris?”

“Yeah, they’re over at Bob and Kim’s.”

“Are you okay?” Luke asked as he put his hand on Reid’s arm.

“I don’t know,” Reid answered honestly. “I’ve spent a good part of my life distancing myself from people. I concentrated on the work and the science. No one ever got close. Then some trust fund baby had to drag me to Small Town USA and my defenses crumbled.”

He looked at Luke and there were tears starting to form. “I let myself fall in love, and that’s worked out pretty well so far. And I let myself care about the Hughes.”

“It’s okay that you’re upset over Nancy’s death,” Luke said.

“But I haven’t felt this way since my parents died.”

Luke just pulled Reid into a hug. He held the older man for a few minutes before Reid let go and got up to get a beer. Luke picked up Jacob and brought him to the kitchen. “I’ll take care of Jacob. Why don’t you got for a run? It might help.”

Reid thought about it for a minute then he nodded. He went to their bedroom and changed then went out for a run. Luke fed Jacob and got the baby ready for bed. He called his family to let them know about Nancy.

Chris and Katie got back before Reid did. Luke offered to get them something to drink. “Where’s Reid?” Katie asked as Luke brought them their drinks.

“He went for a run,” Luke sighed. “He’s having a hard time dealing with Nancy’s death.”

“Why?” Chris asked as he gave Luke a look. “She was my grandmother.”

“He knows that Chris,” Luke said as Katie gave Chris a disapproving look. “You have to understand that he’s not the same guy you knew in medical school. Oakdale has changed him. Your father and your grandmother have had a hand in cracking his defenses. He hasn’t let anyone get close to him since his parents died and he was just a kid then. So yeah, he’s having a hard time dealing with the loss of someone he has grown to love. And I guarantee he won’t be the only one in this town who feels this loss deeply. Nancy Hughes was Oakdale in many ways.”

Chris just nodded and got up. He looked at Katie, then back at Luke. “Tell Reid I said thank you for what he did for my dad today.”

He headed for Katie’s room before Luke could respond.

Reid came back from his run a few minutes later, Luke passed on Chris’s message. Reid just nodded as he headed for the shower. Luke and Katie shrugged at each other before making sure the house was locked up and headed for their bedrooms.

A few days later the majority of the population of Oakdale turned out for Nancy Hughes’s funeral. Bob’s brother and sister, Don and Penny, arrived with their spouses and children. Frannie and Sabrina flew in from Haiti. Andy came with his daughter Hope. Emma and Iva flew in from DC and Emma’s son Seth few in from New York. Emily’s sister Betsy and her daughter Danni arrived the day of the funeral.

Oakdale residents past and present wanted to make sure they paid tribute to a woman who had touched all of their lives. Luke made sure he held onto Reid’s hand throughout the day to keep the older man from saying anything inappropriate. He knew Reid was still working on his people skills.

Reid was glad when the day was over and he could go home with Luke. He said goodbye to Bob and Kim and headed for Luke’s car. He wasn’t paying attention when Luke started driving until he realized they weren’t heading in the direction of Katie’s place. “Uh, Luke, where are we going?”

“Grandma wants us to come out to the farm,” Luke explained. “She wants us all to have dinner together before Uncle Seth goes back to New York and Aunt Iva goes back to DC.”  
“Is your grandmother going back to DC as well?”

“I don’t know,” Luke sighed. “I think that will depend on how Aunt Meg is doing.”

Luke looked over at Reid. “Are you ready for this? I could always tell Grandma that you got called into the hospital.”

“No, it’s okay,” Reid said as he gave Luke a small smile. “I have to meet her eventually. Besides, it’s time I started putting faces to some of these names you keep throwing at me.”  
Luke just laughed. 

A few minutes later, they arrived at the farm and Luke was introducing Reid to Emma, Iva and Seth. As they sat down for dinner, which was out in the yard because of how many people were there, Emma looked over at Jack. “How’s Janet doing? I haven’t seen her all day.”

“You’d have to ask Dusty,” Jack said as Carly put her hand on his arm. “Turns out the baby is Dusty’s after all.”

“How did you find that out?”

“John Dixon thought the baby looked bigger than it should so he ordered a paternity test,” Jack shrugged.

“I’m so sorry Jack,” Emma said, feeling guilty for having asked the question in the first place.

“It’s all right Aunt Emma,” Jack said as he gave her a small smile. “It’s probably for the best anyway. It makes things less complicated.”

“Aunt Emma, are you going to stay for Mom and Dad’s wedding?” Sage asked.

“If I’m invited.”

Carly smiled a genuine smile at the Snyder family matriarch. “Of course you’re invited, Emma.”

“Then I would be happy to attend.”

Reid looked over at Luke and rolled his eyes a little. Luke gave him a nudge with his elbow. “So, Dr. Oliver,” Iva said as she looked at him. “You’re going to be the new Chief of Staff at Memorial.”

“Well, the board meets next week,” Reid said. “Dr. Hughes gave his recommendation but they could always choose someone else.”

“Isn’t that what you want though? Isn’t that the reason you stayed in Oakdale?”

“I stayed in Oakdale because of Luke,” Reid said as he gave her a look. “I could have gone back to Dallas. I had my own practice there. I had people traveling from all over the world just to see me. It wasn’t the Chief of Staff position or even the new neurology wing that kept me in Oakdale. I’m not sure what Ms. Walsh has told you, but I love Luke and that’s the reason I stayed.”

He got up and headed for the house. Luke got up to follow him. “Luke, I’m sorry,” Iva said. “I talked to your mother before I came out here and I was concerned.”

“Mother thinks she can get you to convince me to break up with Reid,” Luke said. “I just wish she would accept my relationship and that I’m not going back to Noah. You know what’s funny. If I was still with Noah she would probably be trying to figure out how to keep me from going to LA with him.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Holden promised.

“Don’t worry about it, Dad,” Luke said as he went to find Reid.

The older man was in the kitchen drinking a beer. Luke went over to him and put his hand on Reid’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about Iva.”

“She’s just doing what your mother wanted her to do,” Reid said bitterly.

“She apologized.”

“I’m not sure that’s good enough right now. Can we just go home?”

“Yeah, sure,” Luke said as he took Reid’s hand and led him out of the house. They both groaned when they saw Lily had arrived. Luke went over to his grandmother. “Grandma, Reid and I are going home now. We’ll come by and see you later.”

“All right sweetheart,” Emma said as she got up and gave Luke a hug. Then she went over and gave Reid a hug. “Welcome to the family.”

Reid just looked at Luke after Emma let him go. They started to walk away when Lily called Luke’s name. He turned and looked at her. “Mother, it’s been a long day. Reid and I are going to go home. Besides, don’t you need to talk to Aunt Iva?”

He turned and walked away with Reid by his side before she could respond. When they got back to Katie’s, Reid collapsed on the couch. Luke sat down beside him and put his head on the older man’s shoulder.

“If today is what you get for caring, maybe I’ll go back to being a bastard,” Reid said as he put an arm around Luke.

“I know today was rough on you,” Luke said. “And I know Aunt Iva’s questions didn’t help matters.”

“No, they didn’t,” Reid agreed. “But I imagine everything she’s heard about me has come from your mother.”

“I keep hoping Mom will get over whatever problem she has with you.”

“I don’t want to think about that anymore,” Reid said as he looked around. “You know, Katie’s still with Chris at his parent’s house. Jacob’s with them.”

“Dr. Oliver are you trying to tell me something?” Luke said as he sat up and grinned at the older man.

“What do you think, Mr. Snyder?” Reid said as he kissed Luke.


	5. Chapter 5

A few weeks later, Reid and Luke found a house they both liked and made an offer on it. Not long after that, they were in Old Town shopping for furniture when they ran into Noah. “Hi Luke,” Noah said as he ignored Reid.

“Noah,” Luke said as he squeezed Reid’s hand. “I thought you were in LA.”

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Noah stated. “There’s still time for you to change your mind and come with me.”

Luke just laughed a little. “You just don’t get it, do you? I’m in a relationship with Reid, who you’ve chosen to ignore by the way. We’ve bought a house tighter and we’re shopping for furniture. Goodbye Noah.”

“He’s changed you,” Noah said as he gave Reid a disgusted look.

“No, Noah, he hasn’t changed me,” Luke said as he shook his head.

“No, Luke, he’s right,” Reid interjected. “You have changed. You don’t let people walk all over you like you did before.”

“Excuse me, Dr. Oliver, but this conversation is between myself and Luke,” Noah glared. 

“Once again, Mr. Mayer, you involved me when you tried to convince my boyfriend to leave with you. I know you’re not brain damaged because I was your doctor so I can only imagine that you are incredibly stupid. Luke has already told you he doesn’t want to go to LA with you. You might want to learn to take no for an answer.”

“If you hadn’t seduced him while I was your patient I wouldn’t have to fight so hard to get him back.”

“Reid didn’t seduce me,” Luke practically screamed. A couple of shoppers turned to look at them men then went on about their business. “Nothing happened between me and Reid until after you and I had broken up. You pushed me away Noah. I’ve moved on, you should do the same. Good luck in LA.”

Luke started to walk away. Reid wasn’t far behind. Noah glared at them as they walked away. “This isn’t over, Luke,” Noah said. “You belong with me.”

Luke and Reid finished picked out their furniture then they went to dinner at Al’s. Henry was actually warming up to Reid, mostly because Katie threatened him and Barbara convinced him that whatever grudge he had against the doctor wasn’t worth it. Casey and Allison joined them. Reid was making an effort to be polite to Luke’s friends. He knew it was important to the younger man and it was also an important step in establishing himself in the community now that he was Chief of Staff.

After they ate, they went back to Reid’s car and started the journey back to Katie’s. They had just started to cross the intersection that would lead them to Katie’s apartment when they were hit on Reid’s side of the car. Luke looked over at the older man and saw blood coming from his head before he passed out.

When Luke woke up, someone was opening the car door. He looked up to see Jack. “Reid?” Luke asked softly.

“They’re getting him into an ambulance now,” Jack said as he reached over and unfastened Luke’s seatbelt. “Can you move?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Luke said as Jack helped him out of the car. “What happened?”

“I was hoping you could tell me that,” Jack said as he led Luke to the other waiting ambulance.

“Where’s Reid,” Luke asked as he looked around.

“He’s in the ambulance over there,” Jack reminded as he pointed. “They’re about to take him to the hospital.”

“Is he okay?” Luke asked, his eyes pleading with his cousin for an answer.

“I’ll go check. You stay right here.”

Luke started to nod but soon regretted it. A few minutes later, a paramedic was putting a bandage on a cut on Luke’s head and Jack was coming back over to him. “How is he?” Luke asked anxiously.

“He’s still unconscious,” Jack sighed. “The medics think he’s got a concussion. It looks like his leg is broken.”

“What about his hands? Reid will have a fit if anything happens to his hands.”

“They seem to be all right. I’m sure the doctors at Memorial will be able to tell you more.”

“I want to go with him.”

“Nope,” Jack said as he put a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “You’ve got your own ride to Memorial. And I’m going with you.”

Jack and the paramedic treating Luke helped him into the ambulance and they followed the one holding Reid to Memorial. When they got there, Luke was treated for his head wound but he refused to be admitted. He was told he had a mild concussion and that he should take it easy. He just nodded and went out to the waiting room, where he was met by Jack and his parents.

“Any word on Reid?” Luke asked Jack as he ignored his mother.

“He woke up and started complaining,” Jack said as Luke laughed a little. “They’re going to take him up to surgery soon so they can fix his leg. The problem they’re having right now is he won’t let them do anything until he sees you.”

“Take me to him,” Luke said as Jack looked at Holden and Lily. “It’s not up to them Jack. He’s my boyfriend, he wants to see me and you need to ask both of us about the accident. He won’t let them operate on his leg until he sees me. Now, are you going to take me to him or do I have to go and look for him.”

Jack sighed. “Yeah, okay. He’s in here.”

He led Luke to the exam room that held Reid. Holden and Lily followed them. Luke rushed to Reid’s side. “Are you okay?”

“Well, my head is killing me and my leg feels like the car ran over it,” Reid joked. “Other than that, I’m just peachy. What about you?”

“I hit my head a little but I’m all right.”

“Guys, I hate to do this but I need to know what happened,” Jack interrupted. 

“We had left Al’s and were heading home,” Reid started as he winced a little and reached out to touch his leg. “I had stopped at the last intersection. After the light changed, I started across when this truck came out of nowhere and hit us.”

“You’re sure it was a truck?” Jack asked.

“I have a photographic memory. It was a red truck.”

“Oh my god,” Luke said as Holden came up and put a hand on his son’s shoulder.

“What is it?” Jack asked.

“Noah drives a red truck,” Holden said as he looked at his cousin/best friend.

“Noah couldn’t have done this,” Lily said as she shook her head. “He’s not violent.”

“His father was,” Holden pointed out.

“But he wouldn’t try to hurt Luke,” she argued.

“He might try to hurt Reid though,” Luke said as he looked at his boyfriend. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

Reid took Luke’s hand. “If this was Noah, it was in no way, shape or form your fault. You can’t blame yourself if he decided to run us down. I didn’t see the driver. Mr. Mayer can’t own the only red truck in Oakdale.”

“Reid’s right,” Holden said as he squeezed Luke’s shoulder. “We don’t know for sure that Noah did this. We should let Jack do his job while the two of you start to heal. Which means you have to let them operate on your leg. Don’t worry about Luke. I called Molly and she’ll make sure Katie knows what’s happened and make sure Luke’s bed is made up at the farm.”

“Dad, I’m staying here with Reid,” Luke protested.

Reid squeezed his hand. “You have a concussion, don’t try to hide it. Brilliant neurosurgeon here. I know you won’t leave until I’m out of surgery but I think you should go home with your dad.”

“Excuse me,” Lily said as she approached the bed. “If Luke is going home with anyone it should be me.”

“Lily, now is not the time…”

“No, it’s not,” Luke interrupted. “Reid needs to have his leg worked on. Jack needs to start looking for whoever did this, especially if this was Noah. He’s supposed to be leaving for LA soon. In fact, he approached us in Old Town about wanting me to go to LA with him. I told him, yet again, that isn’t going to happen. He was angry when we walked away.”

“Okay,” Jack said as he looked from Luke to Reid and back again. “I’m going to list Noah as a person of interest and get officers looking for him. If you two remember anything else, give me a call.”

“We will,” Luke promised as Reid’s doctor came in.

“We really should get you up to surgery now, Dr. Oliver,” he said.

“Yes, all right,” Reid huffed. He looked at Luke. “I know you’re not going to leave until I’m out of surgery. Why don’t you and your parents wait up in my office? That way you can at least rest on the couch.”

“Yeah, okay,” Luke said as he leaned over and kissed Reid. “Try not to give the surgeon and nurses too hard of a time.”

“Hey, it’s me,” Reid grinned as a nurse came in to prep him for surgery on his leg.

“Yeah, I know,” Luke laughed. 

Luke waited until they had taken Reid up to surgery before he led his parents up to Reid’s office. He laid down on the couch and looked at his father. “Dad, you should probably call Molly now.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” Holden said as he got his phone out. “What do you want her to tell Katie?”

“That Reid and I are all right and that she can mother both of us tomorrow when she comes to see Reid.”

Holden smiled. “I’ll also tell her that Reid’s going to be out of commission for a while. I would imagine he won’t be able to stand with his leg like that.”

Luke groaned. “I didn’t even think about that. He’s going to be hell to live with for the next few weeks. At least he can still do most of his Chief of Staff duties.”

Holden nodded as Lilly pulled a chair up beside the couch. “Sweetie, I really think you should come home with me tonight.”

Luke just looked at her. “Mother, you have made no secret about who you would rather see me with. I can’t get you to understand that I love Reid and Noah and I are finished. I can tell right now that you can’t accept the possibility that Noah could be the person who hit Reid’s car. Reid could have died tonight. We both could have died tonight. And all you seem to care about is making sure you keep me away from Molly, like I’m part of some custody battle.”

Lily looked hurt. “Do you really think that’s what I’m trying to do?”

Luke sighed. “I don’t know. It just seems that’s the way you’ve been acting ever since you sent Noah to my office. I can’t take it anymore, especially after tonight. So I’m going to stay here until Reid’s out of surgery then I’m going to go back to the farm with Dad.”

She just nodded as Luke closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Katie had taken his mother’s place in the chair by his side. “Hey, you didn’t have to come here tonight,” he said as he smiled at her. 

“Yeah right,” she said as she gave him a look. “My two best roommates nearly get killed by some crazy hit and run driver and you expect me to stay home? I don’t think so mister.”

“What about Jacob?”

“Chris and I dropped him off at Kim’s. He’s checking in with the surgeon working on Reid’s leg.”

“Did you call Casey and Allison?”

“Allison’s on duty tonight. In fact, she’s on Reid’s surgical team. Casey’s on his way. Your dad said you’re going out to the farm tonight?”

Luke smiled a little. “You know the alternative is Grandma camping out in your kitchen making sure I’m okay.”

Katie grinned. “You make a good point. I know better than to mess with Emma Snyder when one of her chicks is hurting. Or should I say cubs? She could give grizzlies a run for their money.”

Luke laughed. “You’re right.” Then he sighed. “Did Dad tell you that Reid saw the truck that hit us?”

“Yeah,” Katie said as she took his hand. “Luke, you don’t really think Noah did this?”

“I don’t know,” Luke admitted. “He was so angry when we saw him in Old Town. He really thought I would just leave Reid and go to LA with him.”

“Simon thought I would leave with him,” Katie said as she sat back in her chair. “I might have if I hadn’t had Jacob. But if I had left, I wouldn’t have met Reid, or found a new start with Chris.”

“This whole idea of first love lasting is really starting to wear thin,” Luke said as he sat up. “Dad’s happy with Molly. Happier than I’ve seen him in a long time. You’ve found happiness first with Brad and now with Chris. Henry and Barbara work in a strange kind of way. I know deep in my heart that Noah and I weren’t meant to last.”

“Then you concentrate on you and Reid,” Katie advised. “Noah will be in LA tomorrow and you won’t have to see him again.”

Luke nodded as Chris came in with Holden and Lily. “Reid’s out of surgery,” Chris said as he approached Luke. “He’ll sleep for the rest of the night. Why don’t you go home with your father now?”

“Can I see him?” Luke asked, his eyes pleading.

“He’ll be asleep.”

“I know, I just need to see him before I leave. I need to see for myself that he’s going to be all right.”

Chris glanced at Katie for a second then he looked at Luke. “Yeah, okay.”

He led everyone down to Reid’s room. He opened the door and let Luke go in first. Luke went over to Reid and took his hand. He leaned over and gave Reid a kiss on the forehead. Reid stirred and opened his eyes. “Hey,” he said softly. “What are you still doing here?”

“I came to see you were all right,” Luke said as he smiled a little. “And to make sure you weren’t making any of the nurses cry.”

“The only one who will come near him is Allison,” Chris said from the doorway.

“Doogie, why don’t you make sure Luke hasn’t done any further damage to himself sleeping on my couch then send him home with Good Dad,” Reid instructed.

“Reid, I’m fine,” Luke protested.

Reid gave him a look. Luke sighed. “All right, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll let Chris take another look at me before I go to the farm if you promise to behave for the nurses.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Snyder,” Reid said as he kissed Luke’s forehead.

Luke leaned over and kissed Reid’s forehead again. “You better believe it. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Reid nodded as he watched Luke walk out of the room with Chris. He could see Holden and Lily in the hallway. “Holden, can I speak to you for a minute,” he called then he saw Lily start to follow her ex-husband into the room and added, “In private.”

Lily just gave him a cold stare as Holden came in and shut the door. “What did you want to talk to me about, Reid?”

“Noah,” Reid said seriously. “Luke told me about what happened with Noah’s father. I know I don’t know Noah as well as you do but I know I saw a red truck hit us. I know there have been cases were a child of a sociopath becomes one. I’m not saying I’m 100% sure that it was Noah who hit us but I would feel better if I knew Luke was protected. Is it possible for Jack to have someone watch the farm tonight?”

“Jack and I already thought about that,” Holden assured. “He and Carly dropped Sage off at Lily’s to spend the night with Natalie. They’ll be at the farm when we get there.”

Reid just nodded. “For Luke’s sake, I hope it wasn’t Noah. I hope it was just some drunk idiot who was too scared to stop.”

“I hope so too,” Holden said as he turned toward the door. “Get some rest. Don’t worry about Luke. Molly and I will take care of him until you get out of here.”

Reid gave Holden a small wave and closed his eyes as the older man left the room. Lily practically pounced on Holden as soon as he came out of Reid’s room. “What did he want?”

“He wanted to ask me to have Jack have someone watch the farm tonight,” Holden said as he led her in the direction Chris had taken Luke. “I told him it was taken care of.”

“You don’t think Luke will be safe at the farm?”

“I think Luke will be perfectly safe at the farm,” Holden argued. “Jack ad Carly are going to stay tonight to help me and Molly make sure we don’t have any unexpected visitors.”

“I still think he should come home with me.”

“Well, it isn’t your decision to make. Luke’s an adult. He can chose where he spends the night tonight. If he wanted to go to your house or back home to Katie’s, I would respect his decision.”

“The only reason he’s not coming home with me is because Dr. Oliver turned him against me.”

“Are you listening to yourself?” Holden asked her as he tried to keep his temper in check. “You’re acting like this is some kind of competition between you and Reid. It’s not, its Luke’s life. And you’re trying to control it the same way your mother tried to control yours. You tried the same thing with Faith. No wonder she decided to live at the farm. I can only wonder what you’re going to do if Natalie and Ethan don’t conform to your perfect plan for their lives.”

“I do not try to control my children,” Lily protested.

“What do you call sending Noah to Luke’s office to try and get them back together? What do you call telling Iva that Reid only stayed in town to further his career?”

“I’m just trying to keep our son from having his heart broken.”

“I’ve already had my heart broken, Mom,” Luke said as he came up behind them. “I’ve had my heart broken by Damian, by Noah and by you. Reid loves me. He knows all my faults and my screw-ups and he doesn’t judge me. He doesn’t try to control me and he doesn’t try to hide me.”

He turned and looked at Holden. “Reid’s asleep and I’m exhausted. I’m ready to go to the farm when you are.”

Holden nodded and started to walk away with Luke when Lily called her son’s name. Luke sighed and looked at Lily again. “I really am exhausted Mother. I just want to get some sleep right now. I know we need to talk, but it’s not going to happen tonight. Give it a couple of days and then call me. I need to concentrate on Reid at least until he gets out of the hospital and you need to come to terms with the fact that no matter what you say and do it’s over for Noah and me.”

Lily just looked at him for a minute then she nodded. She watched him leave with Holden then she pulled out her phone and dialed. “Mother, we need to talk.”


	6. Chapter 6

Holden made sure Luke was settled in his old room before he went downstairs. Emma, Molly, Jack and Carly were waiting for him. “How is he?” Emma asked.

“He’s exhausted,” Holden said as he sat down beside Molly. “He asked me if I thought Noah could have done this.”

“What did you tell him?” Molly asked as she put an arm around her husband.

“I told him I wasn’t sure.”

“I went by Noah’s apartment,” Jack said. “He wasn’t there. Allison is his roommate and she said she hadn’t seen him all day.”

“I thought Allison had moved in with Casey,” Carly said.

“They’re planning on it after Noah moves to LA,” Holden supplied. “Casey told Luke that he thought it would awkward if he shared an apartment with Noah.”

“Why?” Emma asked.

“Because Luke would want to visit Casey and he would bring Reid with him.”

Emma nodded and Jack sighed. “Well, there’s not much we can do tonight. Margo assigned a unit to watch the farm tonight and she has everyone on the lookout for any red trucks that have massive front end damage. Reid’s car had a lot of damage to the driver’s side. I talked to the crime scene guys and there weren’t any skid marks.”

“So this wasn’t a drunk driver?” Carly asked. “Someone could have been targeting Reid. I know Reid can rub a person the wrong way but I don’t know anyone who would want to kill him.”

“Well I for one hope it was some random drunk for Luke’s sake,” Emma said. “Even though he has found love with Reid, it will devastate him to find out for sure that Noah had something to do with this.”

“Why don’t we try to get some sleep,” Holden suggested as he got up. “We can get back to finding out who did this in the morning.”

They all agreed and everyone went to bed. The next morning, everyone was up and moving by the time Luke came downstairs. Faith was sitting at the table and looked up when she saw him come in. “You look like crap.”

“I love you too,” Luke said as he went over to the coffee pot.

“How’s your head?”

“Better,” Luke said as he poured his coffee and joined her at the table. “I called to check on Reid before I came downstairs. He should be able to come home in a couple of days.”

“That’s good news.”

“Yeah it is. I just wish I knew who did this.”

“So you don’t think it was Noah?” she asked.

Luke sighed. “I hope it wasn’t Noah. But if it was…”

“If it was what?” Noah’s voice came from the door.

Luke and Faith both jumped up. Luke glanced out of the window at the same time as Faith did. “Faith, go find Dad and Jack.”

“Luke, his truck…”

“I know, just go find Dad and Jack.”

Noah let Faith run past him then he shut the door. Luke couldn’t tell if he had locked it or not. “What are you doing here?” Luke asked.

“I came to get you so we can go to Los Angeles. Our flight leaves in a couple of hours.”

“Noah, you know I’m not going to LA with you. I told you that several times. I’m not leaving Reid.”

“Reid’s dead!” Noah said angrily. “He died in a car crash!”

“No, he didn’t,” Luke said as he tried to keep his voice calm. “I just spoke to him a few minutes ago. His leg was badly broken but he’s going to be fine. Noah, why did you do it?”

“Do what?” Noah asked as he gave Luke a strange look.

“Why did you hit Reid’s car?” Luke asked as he hoped his father and cousin were on their way.

“I didn’t do that,” Noah denied.

“Oh really, then let’s go look at your truck.”

“Luke, we don’t have time for this.”

“You want to make sure the truck can get to the airport, right.”

Noah sighed and opened the door so Luke could walk past him.

“You first,” Luke said as he pointed the way.

He followed Noah outside and got a good look at Noah’s truck. It was obvious that Noah had hit something with a lot of force. He got closer and saw flecks of paint from Reid’s car. “Oh, god, it was you.”

“What if it was?” Noah snorted. “You didn’t see it happen.”

“No, but Reid did. He told Jack that a red truck hit us. I didn’t want to think it was you.”

“What do you mean us?” Noah asked as panic started to fill his voice. “You weren’t in the car. He dropped you off before he went home, didn’t he?”

Luke just laughed. “You really haven’t listened to a thing I’ve told you the past few months, have you? I live with Reid. We’re living with Katie until we can move into our house. We were on our way home when you tried to kill us last night.”

“Luke, we need to go,” Noah said as he moved toward Luke.

Luke took a step back. “I’m not going anywhere with you. You tried to kill me just like your father did.”

“I’m nothing like my father!” Noah screamed. “Dr. Oliver stole you away from me! He had to pay! We belong together, Luke!”

Luke just shook his head. “Listen to yourself! You sound just like your father!”

“We don’t have time for this,” Noah said as he grabbed Luke. “We have to go.”

He started to drag Luke to the truck. They only moved a couple of feet before Holden and Jack ran up to them. Holden grabbed Luke and Jack grabbed Noah. They pulled the two young men apart. Holden held his son close while Jack wrestled with Noah until he was able to get his handcuffs on Noah. The patrol car that was supposed to be watching the farm pulled into the driveway and Jack took Noah over to it. He put Noah in the back of the patrol car and motioned for the officers to step aside and speak to him.

Molly, Carly and Faith came running up. “Are you okay, Luke?” Molly asked as she touched her step-son’s back.

“Yeah, he didn’t hurt me this time,” Luke said as Holden loosened his embrace. “How did he get past the patrol car?”

“I think that’s what Jack’s trying to find out now,” Carly said as she looked over at Jack.

“I need to see Reid,” Luke said, his eyes never leaving the damaged red pickup.

“Mama is going to make breakfast,” Holden said. “We can leave after that.”

“No, Dad, I need to see him now,” Luke pleaded. “Noah thought Reid had died last night. He was trying to kill us. I need to see Reid.”

Holden looked over at Molly, who nodded. “All right, go get ready. Molly and I will take you. Carly, can you call Lily and tell her what happened? Oh, and call Katie and let her know we’re going to come and pick up Luke’s car later today.”

“I will,” Carly said as Holden let go of Luke. She went over and hugged the younger man. “I’m sorry we couldn’t prove it was someone else.”

Luke sighed. “It’s all right, Carly. I think I knew it was Noah last night when Reid described the truck.”

Luke turned and walked into the house. Holden and the others followed him. When he came back downstairs, Jack was waiting for him. “Luke, I know you want to go see Reid, but I just need to ask a couple of questions.”

Luke just nodded and Jack continued. “What happened after Faith left the house?”

Luke told him everything that had happened. Jack sighed as he looked up from his notes. “It looks like Noah pulled in while the patrol officers were switching shifts. They’re taking Noah to be booked right now. A tow truck is coming for Noah’s truck.”

Luke just nodded and looked at his father. Holden sighed. “Are you sure you don’t want to eat some breakfast first?”

“I need to see Reid,” Luke insisted.

Holden nodded and led Luke out to the car. They went to the hospital and as soon as they got there, Luke rushed to Reid’s room. He didn’t even know he was holding his breath until he opened the door to Reid’s room and saw him asleep in the hospital bed. Luke went over to the chair beside the bed and practically collapsed into it.

Reid stirred and opened his eyes. He was surprised to see Luke sitting there. “Hey,” he said softly. “I thought you were busy being fed by Emma.”

“I had to see you,” Luke said, his voice breaking.

“Luke, what’s happened?” Reid said as Luke took his hand.

“Noah showed up at the farm,” Holden said as he came in. “He tried to force Luke to go with him to the airport. He was the one who hit you, Reid. Only he thought he had killed you and told Luke you were dead.”

“Luke, you knew I was all right,” Reid said as Luke looked away. “You talked to me when you woke up this morning.”

“I know,” he cried. “I think part of me thought he might have come here first.”

“Come here,” Reid said as Luke got up and went into Reid’s embrace.

Reid looked up at Holden, who nodded and left them alone. “I’m right here, Luke. I’m okay. I won’t let some want to be film maker take me away from you. I’m in this for the long haul.”

Luke just nodded as he let go of Reid. “I know. I guess I panicked after Noah showed up and the dreams I had last night.”

“What dreams?”

“They were more like nightmares. And in all of them you were killed in some sort of car wreck. There was one where you got stuck on some train tracks and you couldn’t get out of the car.”

“Now that one is just crazy,” Reid said as Luke gave him a look. “Why would I try to outrun a train?”

“I don’t know,” Luke sighed. “I guess I just got really scared last night.”

“I did too,” Reid admitted. He sat up a little and winced as he did. He held his hand up when Luke tried to help him. “I’m okay. Luke, neither one of us would have ever thought that Mr. Mayer was capable of this. But he did and now he has to live with the consequences.”

“So do we,” Luke argued.

“Only for a little while,” Reid said as he took Luke’s hand. “I’ll heal. You’re already healing. And together we can get through this. Although it might delay moving into the house for a little while. I can’t get up the stairs very well.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Luke smiled.

Noah was booked on charges of attempted murder, reckless driving and fleeing the scene of an accident. He kept asking to see Luke, but Luke refused to see him. Reid was released from the hospital in a wheelchair. The orthopedic surgeon assured him it would just be for a few weeks.

He managed to still terrorize the nurses. He also worked on the plans for the new wing. Bob, Luke and Reid had the plans ready for groundbreaking by the time Reid was out of the wheelchair and onto crutches.

Reid and Luke were also finally able to move into their house. After they had moved out, Katie and Chris decided to get married. Before the wedding, they had dinner with Tom and Margo. The older couple was feeling a bit of empty nest syndrome after Allison and Casey had gotten married. They had decided their house was too big for just the two of them but it was perfect for Katie, Chris and Jacob. The two couples switched houses.


	7. Chapter 7

Reid wasn’t sure if it was the chaos of the weddings of Chris and Katie and Allison and Casey or if it was the aftermath of the wreck but he started thinking he wanted to make things permanent with Luke. He had never thought about marriage before. It had never even been on his radar. In fact, when people told him they were getting married in the past, he would point and laugh. He just knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Luke Snyder.

He was sitting in his office a few weeks after he had been put into a walking cast searching men’s wedding rings online when there was a knock on the door. He minimized the window as he said “Come in.”

John walked in and looked around. “Love what you’ve done with the place.”

Reid looked at him for a second then he nodded. “That’s right, you used to be Chief of Staff.”

“A long time ago,” John said as he sat down. 

“So what brings you to my humble office? You’re not thinking about retiring too, are you? Cause I just had Susan Stewart in here the other day saying she was going to retire next year.”

“No, nothing like that,” John said as he sighed. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something personal.”

“Oh really?” Reid said as he gave the older doctor a look.

“You’re from New York originally, aren’t you?”

“No, I didn’t move there until after my parents died and my uncle became my guardian. I was 6 when they died and I blocked out memories of where we lived before. After my uncle decided to make me into some genius chess prodigy it just hurt less not to remember the happier times. And why am I telling you this anyway?”

John laughed. “You know, you remind me of someone.”

“Who’s that?”

“Me,” John said seriously. “I had not the best bedside manner for a long time. And you can ask Kim and Lucinda what kind of husband I was. But there’s one thing I think I’ve gotten right, and that’s being a father and a grandfather.”

“Okay, but what does that have to do with if I’m from New York or not?” Reid said, not sure where this conversation was going.

“When you were in that car accident, I looked at your chart,” John admitted. “I had to make sure our new Chief of Staff was going to be all right. I noticed your blood type.”

“You’re really starting to creep me out here, Dr. Dixon. Where exactly are you going with this?”

“We have the same blood type,” John admitted.

“So, lots of people have the same blood type.”

“Yes, they do,” John admitted. “It’s one reason Damian Grimaldi was determined to be Luke’s biological father instead of Holden Snyder.”

“So this is about Luke?” Reid asked.

“In a way,” John said.

“Okay, now you’re just being damn cryptic. Spit it out Dr. Dixon.”

“I knew your mother,” John admitted. “Your parents lived in Oakdale before you were born. Your mother worked here. And, you may not want to hear this, but I need to tell you, I had an affair with her.”

“You had an affair with my mother?” he said as he gave John a look. “Why do I find that hard to believe?”

“How did you know how to get in touch with me?” John said as Reid sighed.

“You are one of the top cardiologists in the country. Your work and reputation is known by many.”

“Yes, but how many have my direct line at Johns Hopkins?”

“I’ve always had your direct line,” Reid said as a realization struck him. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve had your direct line at every hospital you’ve worked at in the country. I never questioned why.”

“Until now,” John said as Reid nodded. “I want you to listen to what I have to say and then I’ll leave you to think. I think when I was younger I regarded fidelity as a joke. I slept with any woman who would have me. Elizabeth Oliver was no different. She should have been though. She was a special woman. She was deeply in love with her husband. And one night, after we had made love, she confided in me. She told me something that I didn’t think about until I read your medical file.”

“What’s that?” 

“Her husband couldn’t have children.”

Reid laughed. “Well, obviously they were wrong because I’m sitting here having this conversation with you.”

“Reid, listen to me. A little over a month after that last night together, she and her husband abruptly left Oakdale. They went to Boston and I never heard from her again. Then her son nearly gets killed by his boyfriend's crazy ex-lover and I look at his medical chart and find out we have the same blood type."

Reid got up and ran his hand through his hair. “So what are you trying to say? Are you trying to say that you’re my father? That Matthew Oliver was just my mother’s husband? That Angus Oliver, that son of a bitch, is no relation to me whatsoever?”

“I’m saying it’s a possibility,” John said as he got up and put his hands on Reid’s desk. “Look, Reid, I don’t want to turn your world upside down. I just want to make you aware of the fact that I could be your father. And I want to make you aware of something I noticed in Luke’s chart.”

Reid turned and looked at him. “What about Luke?” 

“They said when Luke was born that a blood test proved he was Damian’s son. That test was based on blood type, not DNA. It was put in Luke’s chart then that he had A- blood. The medical records from his transplant say his blood type is A+.”

“That could just be a typo,” Reid argued.

“Yes, but your blood type is AB+,” John said. “You and Luke are in a committed relationship. You’re probably going to get married. You know there could be children. If Luke gets pregnant, and is really A- there could be RH problems. Don’t you want to find out for sure to make sure there aren’t any problems?”

“We haven’t talked about children,” Reid said as he gave John a look. “And even if we do have children, it’s none of your business.”

“It could be…”

“I’m not your son!” Reid shouted. “Matthew Oliver was my father!”

He pulled his wallet out and went through the few pictures he kept and threw one on the desk. “That’s my family! My mother, my FATHER and me!”

“Reid, I didn’t come in here to upset you,” John said as he held his hands up. “I just want you to think about what I said and talk to Luke. If nothing else, clear up the question about his blood type, for his sake.”

“That much I’ll do,” Reid said as John nodded.

“If you want to do a DNA test, all you have to do is ask,” John said as he walked to the door.

“I’ll do that,” Reid said sarcastically.

John left and Reid collapsed in his chair. He swept some papers off his desk just as Bob came in. "What's happened?" Bob asked as he approached the younger man. "It's not Luke is it?"

“No, Luke’s fine,” Reid said as he put his head in his hands.

Bob sat down in the chair John had just vacated. “What did John do?”

“How did you know he was in here?” Reid asked as he looked at the man he had come to think of as a mentor and a father figure.

“I saw him leave your office. What did he say?”

“He came in here and pretty much told me he’s my father,” Reid spat.

“What?” Bob asked surprised.

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Why don’t you tell me what he said?”

“He said that he had an affair with my mother. Told me my parents had lived here before I was born and abruptly left for Boston. And this was not long after my mother had supposedly told him that my father couldn’t have children. And he’s figured out that I’m his son based on the fact that we have the same blood type.”

“It takes more than blood type to prove paternity,” Bob stated.

“I know that!” Reid exclaimed. Then he sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t take it out on you.”

“It’s all right,” Bob smiled. “John has been known to get under people’s skin every now and then.”

“Yeah, he said we have a lot in common that way.”

“Still doesn’t mean he’s your father.”

Reid nodded. “He did say something that I am actually concerned about though.”

“What’s that?” 

“He said there’s a discrepancy on Luke’s chart involving his blood type.”

“Oh really?”

Reid nodded as he pulled up the medical records on his computer. “He said that the Rh factor on Luke’s chart from when he got his transplant is different from when he was born.”

“If I recall, he was typed A- when he was born and that’s Damien’s blood type,” Bob said as Reid pulled up his boyfriend’s records.

“Son of a bitch, Dixon’s right,” Reid said as he turned the screen so Bob could see that the chart now reflected that Luke’s blood type was A+. “There is no way on earth that Luke’s blood type changed from the time he was born to the time he was sixteen.”

“Reid, this is a serious issue,” Bob said as he looked at his friend. “If you and Luke decide to have children and he is A- there are precautions that have to be taken because you’re AB+. And if his blood type is A+ that could have an impact on his paternity. He could find out that Holden is his biological father after all.”

“What should I do?” Reid asked.

Bob knew he was asking what he should do about Luke and what he should do about the bombshell John had dropped on him about his paternity. Bob sighed. “You need to talk to Luke and have him come in to have his blood retyped. You two probably need to sit down and talk to Lily and Holden about that as well. As far as John is concerned, talk to Luke about that as well. He’s your partner, Reid, he can help you get through this. I can help you with the DNA tests if you want to pursue that.”

“You retired,” Reid said as he grinned a little.

“Yeah, Kim doesn’t believe that either,” Bob laughed. “I can tell you if your mother worked her though. What was her name?”

“Elizabeth Oliver. My father’s name was Matthew.”

Bob closed his eyes. When he opened them, he saw the hopeful look on Reid’s face. “I’m sorry Reid, Elizabeth Oliver did work here. And she did abruptly leave for Boston. I can’t swear that John didn’t have an affair with her. John had a reputation as a womanizer.”

Reid just nodded. He turned back to his computer. “I better go talk to Luke.”

They got up and went to the door. Bob looked at Reid just before he opened the door. “Call me if you want to talk about this. Kim can also be a good shoulder to lean on. She knows John just as well as I do, if not better because she was married to him.”

Reid nodded. “Thanks Bob. I’ll let you know.”

Bob nodded and they left Reid’s office. Reid locked the door then headed to his car. He thought about what John had told him and what Bob had said. He decided the more pressing issue was Luke and his blood type. He remembered Luke had told him he was going to the farm to help Holden with a new horse. He drove to the farm trying to figure out what to say to his boyfriend.

He arrived just as Emma came out to take a quilt off of the cloths line. “You know they have these things now called dryers,” he teased as he got out of the car.

“Hush you and come over here and help me fold this,” she said as she smiled at him.

“Is there a reward?” he asked as he put his sunglasses in his shirt pocket.

“I believe I have a pie in the oven that has your name on it.”

“Give me an end,” he said as he held his hands out.

“How’s your leg?” Emma asked.

“It’s getting there. I’ve got a few more weeks with this walking cast then it should be back to normal.”

Emma nodded as they folded the quilt. She looked at the face of the young man her grandson had fallen in love with and saw the uncertainty in his eyes. “What’s troubling you, Reid?”

“Someone said something to me that has me thinking about Luke and his parents,” Reid said as he sighed.

“What’s that?” Emma asked concerned.

“Dr. Dixon looked at Luke’s chart, and mine, after the accident and noticed that Luke’s blood type has been changed. It says A+ now when it said A- when he was born. It could just be a typo.”

“Or something could have been altered,” Emma concluded. “You know, they used Luke’s blood type to determine Holden wasn’t his biological father.”

“I know,” Reid sighed. “I don’t know how to tell him this.”

“Tell me what?” Luke said as he and Holden came out of the barn.

“Let’s all go inside and I’ll make some tea,” Emma said as she took the quilt from Reid and led them inside.

Reid sat down at the kitchen table and started playing with the salt shaker. Luke sat down beside him and took his hands. “What don’t you know how to tell me?”

Reid sighed. “I had a conversation with John Dixon today. It seems he decided to take a look at our charts after everything that happened. He noticed that when your blood type was recorded for your transplant it was recorded as A+ instead of A-.”

“That’s impossible,” Holden said as he got the mugs out for the tea.

“That’s what I said,” Reid said as he looked up. “I told him it could have been a typo. He acknowledged that. He also pointed out that it could be important if and when Luke and I decide to have children because of Rh factor issues.”

“So what should we do?” Luke asked.

“We retype your blood,” Reid stated. “Dr. Dixon also suggested that you and Holden do a DNA test.”

“He thinks I could be Luke’s father?” Holden asked.

“Yeah, he does. Seemed pretty adamant about it. Seemed pretty adamant about a lot of things.”

Luke looked up at Holden who shrugged. Emma gave Holden the kettle to pour the tea as she went over and sat at Reid’s other side. She took his other hand in hers and looked at him. “What else did John say to you?”

“He said he knew my mother,” Reid said softly. “He said he had an affair with her. He said he’s pretty positive he’s my father.”

“Based on an affair?” Luke asked.

“And he says my mother told him my father couldn’t have children. He wants me to do a DNA test.”

“What do you want to do?” Luke asked.

Reid sighed in frustration. “I don’t know. They were my parents, Luke. I only had six years with them before they died. I remember them loving me. I remember my father giving me my first stethoscope. He loved me, Luke. He was my father. And if he hadn’t died, I wouldn’t have been the arrogant bastard you had to blackmail to get here. Angus made me that after I had to go live with him.”

“He will always be your father, Reid,” Emma said as she squeezed his hand. “Holden has always been Luke’s father just like I’ve always been Iva’s mother. If you don’t want to have a DNA test done, we will support you.”

“Thanks, Emma,” he said as he pulled away from her and Luke. “I’m going to go for a walk.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” Luke asked as Reid stood up.

“No, I need some time alone,” Reid said as he walked out of the house.

Luke looked up at Holden. “What do I do?”

“About Reid?” Holden asked as he sat down. “Support him through this. If he decides he doesn’t want to do a DNA test, be there for him. Either way, really. As far as your situation, you defiantly need to get your blood retyped. You also need to decide if you want a DNA test. And you need to decide what you want to tell your mother. I know you two haven’t really spoken since Noah was arrested.”

“Can you tell her?” Luke asked. “And I do want the DNA test. If I’m not Damien Grimaldi’s son, I want to know once and for all. I want to know that I’m really your son.”  
Holden pulled Luke into his arms. “You’ve always been my son, in my heart anyway. Ever since you were born right there on that kitchen floor, you’ve been my son. All this would change is that we would know we’re biologically related.”

Luke nodded. Holden let him go and got up to call Lily. Emma gave Luke a kiss on the cheek then she got up to start supper. Luke went and stood by the door. He couldn’t see where Reid had gone but he had a pretty good guess. He waited about half an hour before he went out to the pond.


	8. Chapter 8

Reid was standing there looking out across the water. Luke had brought him to the pond when Holden and Molly had gotten married. Reid loved how peaceful and quiet it was. Luke walked up and stood beside him. “I told you I needed some time alone,” Reid said as he continued to look out at the water.

“You did,” Luke agreed. “That was half an hour ago.”

“Half an hour?” Reid said surprised. “I can’t have been out here that long.”

“You have been. Grandma’s almost got supper ready.”

Reid closed his eyes and sighed. He opened them and looked up at the sky. “What am I going to do Luke?”

“You want my honest opinion?” Luke asked as Reid looked at him.

“Always.”

“I think you should do the DNA test. If it proves John Dixon isn’t your father, it will shut him up.”

“And if it proves he is my father?”

“Then you get Casey for a nephew,” Luke teased.

Reid groaned. “I forgot you told me he was Dixon’s grandson.”

“Yep, you get Margo for a sister. You and Katie will have something else in common then.”

“Would that make her my step-sister?”

Luke grinned. “Sort of.”

“All right,” Reid said as he took Luke’s hand. “I’ll take my DNA test and you’ll take yours. Then we’ll know once and for all who are fathers are.”

“Biologically,” Luke said as he touched Reid’s face. “Nothing will change the fact that Matthew Oliver loved you and was your father, just like nothing will change the fact that Holden Snyder is my father. DNA tests just prove biology, not love.”

Reid nodded. “Come on. If your brother and sisters are here, I’ll have to fight them for the food.”

Luke laughed as they went back to the farmhouse. Holden looked at Reid. The younger man nodded and said, “I’m going to do it.”

“You have my support,” Holden said as they went to the table.

“Bob said he would help with the DNA tests.”

“We can call him later,” Holden said as Faith brought Ethan and Natalie in from the living room. Molly came in a few minutes later and they sat down to eat. After supper, Reid and Luke exchanged a look. “We’re need to get going, Grandma,” Luke said as he got up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “We’ll call you tomorrow.”

“All right, Sweetie,” she said as she got up and gave Reid a hug. “It will all be all right.”

“Thanks Emma,” he said as he gave her a small smile.

They went out to Reid’s car and sat there for a minute. “Reid, do you want to go talk to Bob?” Luke asked.

Reid just nodded. “Then let’s go,” Luke said as he reached over and squeezed his hand.

They drove to the Hughes house. When Bob answered the door, Reid wasn’t surprised to see he had been expecting him. “Holden called. Kim is in the living room. She just made tea,” he said as he led the couple in.

Kim stood as they came in. She went over to Reid and gave him a hug. “I’m sorry, Reid. John has never been very good at tact.”

“Me either,” Reid sighed as he and Luke sat down. Kim handed them some tea and Reid took a sip before he looked at Bob. “We’ve decided that we both want DNA tests run. And while Luke is hopeful about his, I’m not so sure.”

“I understand,” Kim said as she smiled a little. “I know that John Dixon isn’t the easiest person to get along with. I know he’s done some reprehensible things in his time. I also know he loves his children and grandchildren with everything he has in him. If he is your father, you will gain three brothers, a sister, a niece and two nephews.”

Reid closed his eyes and sighed. “I’ve never had to deal with siblings before. I was an only child and Angus didn’t have any children. Never got married.”

“What did your uncle do to you?” Bob asked as Luke took Reid’s hand.

“He saw that I had a talent for playing chess,” Reid said as he looked at the older man. “He decided that I was his ticket to fame and fortune. I liked playing chess. It was fun. But he wanted me to be a grandmaster. I didn’t. Part of me just wanted to be a kid and I threw a game. I never told him I lost on purpose. He took a knight and pressed it into my hand and told me I was a failure and would never amount to anything. When I graduated medical school I sent it back to him with a note that said Check Mate.”

“I wish you hadn’t had to have gone through that,” Luke said as Reid squeezed his hand.

“Yeah, me too,” Reid sighed. He looked at Kim. “So who are these potential siblings? I know about Margo and Casey.”

“Margo’s oldest son is Adam,” she said as she and Bob exchanged glances. “He’s out of town right now. Andy is my son with John and he has a daughter, Hope.”

“Yeah, Luke mentioned something about them when he was explaining his family to me,” Reid said as he set his tea cup down. “Said something about thinking that Hope was Faith?”

“That is a long story,” Bob sighed. “John has two other sons. Duke is a doctor in New York and MJ is Iva’s son.”

“Yeah I met MJ when he came up with Iva. He’s supposed to be here for Christmas. Apparently he wants to spend some time with Emma.”

“Well, she is his grandmother,” Luke grinned. “Other people are allowed to spend time with her besides you.”

“Let me guess, Emma’s taken him into her embrace?” Kim laughed.

“I think she lured him in with her cooking,” Luke teased.

“Reid, I have to ask you, what if he is right?” Kim asked. “What if he is your father?”

“I don’t know right now, Kim,” Reid sighed. “I haven’t even had enough time to really process all of this. I just know I want to get these tests done and then we’ll figure it out from there.”

Kim nodded. Reid got up. “It’s been a long day. We better get home.”

“I’ll meet you two at the hospital first thing in the morning,” Bob said. “Holden will meet us there.”

Luke nodded as they all walked toward the front door.

“I will take care of talking to John about this,” Bob promised. “Reid, you know you can come talk to me any time.”

“I do, Bob,” Reid smiled. “Thanks.”

They went home and Reid went straight to the kitchen and grabbed a beer. Luke followed him. “It’s a good thing you’re not on pain medication anymore.”

Reid just gave him a look. Luke held up his hands. “I was just kidding. Look, I know this has been a hard day. I don’t know what to do for you.”

Reid came around, set down his beer and put his arms around Luke. “You’re already doing it. You’re supporting me and that is all you can do right now.”

“I wish John Dixon hadn’t dropped this one you.”

“Yeah, me too,” Reid said as he picked up his beer and took a sip. 

“You know if he had known about you he would have brought you here after your parents died,” Luke said as he put a hand on Reid’s shoulder. “He would have raised you in Oakdale.”

“We would have met sooner,” Reid grinned. “Maybe you would have fallen for me before Mayer and we would have already been together.”

“Maybe, but we can’t play that game,” Luke said as he kissed his boyfriend. “We’re together now and we’re going to get through this.”

“What are you going to do if you find out Holden is your father?” Reid asked as they went out to the living room and sat on the couch.

“The same thing I’ve done all my life,” Luke said as he settled into Reid’s arms. “It won’t really change anything except get me off the Grimaldi hit list.”

“What about the money Damien gave you?”

“It will stay where it is,” Luke said firmly. “Grandmother made sure no Grimaldi could ever touch that money after he went to jail this last time. She also made sure no one could question her acquisition of Grimaldi Shipping. My grandmother is a very shrewd business woman.”

Reid just nodded. He turned the television on and they watched the news before they went up to bed. Reid wasn’t able to get a lot of sleep that night. He kept thinking about his parents. He kept thinking about John Dixon. He couldn’t keep turning things over in his head. He managed to get a couple of hours sleep in before he and Luke had to get up.  
Holden met them at the hospital and they found Bob and Susan at the lab ready to perform the DNA tests and the blood typing test for Luke. Reid had just finished giving his samples when John walked into the lab. “Let me know when you get the results,” Reid said to Susan as he left the lab.

John sighed as he sat down so Susan could get his samples. “John, what did you expect?” Bob asked. “For him to great you with open arms? You just dropped all of this on him and didn’t give him much room for doubt.”

“John you have to give him some time to adjust to this possibility,” Susan said as she finished drawing Luke’s blood sample. She smiled at the younger man. “I’ll have the blood type results this afternoon. The DNA results will be back in about 48 hours.”

Luke nodded as he and Holden left the lab. “I’m going to go find Reid,” Luke told his father. “I’ll call you in a little while.”

Holden gave his son a hug. “It will all work out,” Holden promised.

Luke just nodded and went up to Reid’s office. He knocked on the door before he walked in. Reid was sitting at his desk looking at the picture of him and his parents. Luke went over to him and wrapped his arms around him. “He will always be your father.”

“Everyone keeps telling me that,” Reid said as he put the picture down. “I would have never thought that my mother would cheat on my father.”

“Maybe she did it for a reason,” Luke said as Reid pulled out of his embrace.

“You want to run that by me again?”

“If Dr. Dixon is telling the truth and she told him that your father couldn’t have children, maybe she slept with him because she wanted to get pregnant,” Luke reasoned. “Maybe she thought that was the best way for them to have a child.”

“If what you say is true then my father would have known he couldn’t have children and he would have known I wasn’t really his,” Reid said as Luke leaned against the credenza behind Reid’s desk.

“And from what you told me, he never treated you like you were anything but his son,” Luke said. “It might explain your uncle though.”

“He treated me the way he did because I wasn’t his nephew?” Reid concluded. “That’s a possibility.”

He reached over and picked up his phone. “Who are you calling?” Luke asked.

“Angus,” Reid said as he dialed the number. He closed his hand into a fist when he heard his uncle pick up the phone. Luke reached over and put his hand on the closed fist. “Angus Oliver?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“Dr. Reid Oliver,” he said as he tried not to let Angus know how uncomfortable he was with this conversation.

"What do you want?"

“I want to talk to you about my parents.”

“What about them? They died and I had to raise you. You were ungrateful for everything I tried to do for you. What else do you want to know?”

“Did they ever live in Oakdale, Illinois?”

Angus was quiet for a minute. “Yeah, they did. So what?”

“I live there now.”

“Do I want to know how you wound up in Small Town USA?”

“Probably not. I met some people that knew Mom. Dr. Bob Hughes and Dr. John Dixon.”

“You met Dixon?” Angus asked surprised. “Oh, now I get it. You’re calling because he says he’s your father.”

“Dad was my father,” Reid insisted.

“No, your mother tricked him into believing he was your father,” Angus countered. “Must have. Why else would he raise someone else’s kid?”

“So you’re saying he couldn’t have children?”

“When we were kids, he had gotten sick. The doctor told our parents that he wouldn’t be able to have children after that.”

“No one actually tested that though?”

“They did, boy,” Angus said frustrated. “When he married your mother, they tried for years to get pregnant. They had tests run and found out he couldn’t have kids. Then they moved to Boston and all of a sudden I have a nephew.”

Reid flinched when he heard Angus spit that word out. Luke took the phone from him. “Mr. Oliver, is it possible that your brother knew that Reid wasn’t his son? Is it possible that he knew and didn’t care?”

Angus sighed. “It’s possible. He spoiled that brat. Gave him and that whore he married everything they wanted. When I got the brat I had to make sure he had discipline in his life. Chess gave him that but he quit. He’s always been a quitter.”

“Actually, Mr. Oliver, he threw that last match,” Luke said as Reid looked at him. “He excelled at his studies and graduated with honors from medical school. He ran his own practice in Dallas and is one of the top neurosurgeons in the country. He is currently Chief of Staff of a growing teaching hospital and is spearheading the building of a neurology wing that will be state of the art and the best in the world. He is not a quitter. He is a remarkable man and that is despite you emotionally abusing him. I can guarantee that no matter what happens in the next few days, this will be the last time he ever speaks to you. Goodbye.”

He hung up the phone and looked at Reid. “That man is never going to hurt you again.”

“What did he say about my mother?” Reid asked.

“You don’t want to know,” Luke sighed.

“He called her a whore didn’t he?”

Luke just nodded and Reid got up and began to pace his office. “He’s called her that before. I just ignored him.”

“Even if she did sleep with John Dixon, that doesn’t make her a whore,” Luke reasoned. “And if she slept with John for the reasons I think she did, it just makes her someone who wanted to give her husband a precious gift.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Reid said as he turned his computer on. The window with the ring search came up. 

Luke grinned. “What’s that?”

Reid groaned. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”

“What kind of surprise?”

“I was going to pick out the perfect ring, then I was going to propose.”

Luke gave him a look. “You’re serious?”

“Of course I’m serious,” he said as he took Luke’s hands. “I love you, Luke. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I just hope you want to spend the rest of your life with me.”

Luke kissed him. “Of course I do.”

“So if I asked…”

“Why don’t you see?”

“Luke Snyder, will you marry me?”

“Of course,” Luke said as they kissed again. 

They were still kissing when there was a knock on the door. Reid groaned and Luke laughed. “Hazards of being Chief of Staff.”

“I guess,” he said as they parted. “Come in.”

Susan came in with Holden. “I have the results of the blood type test.”

“And?”

“And I don’t know who tested Luke’s blood when he was born, but his blood type is defiantly A+,” Susan said as she showed Reid the results.

“Who could have altered the tests?” Luke asked.

“My money would be on Damien’s mother,” Holden said. Susan nodded when he mentioned that.

“Probably,” Susan said. “I remember how obsessed she was over Luke and Damien for that matter.”

“So now we know the truth about that,” Luke said as he looked up at Holden. “Now all we have to do is wait for the DNA results.”

“And I have to get to work,” Reid said as he looked at Luke. “Go with your dad. Tell him what we just did.”

“Do I want to know?” Holden asked as they left Reid’s office. 

“We’re getting married,” Luke grinned.

“That’s great,” Holden said as he gave his son a hug. “Come on, let’s go meet Molly at Al’s and tell her the good news.”

Luke nodded and they left the hospital.

Reid looked up and saw Susan still standing there. “Is there something I can do for you, Dr. Stewart?”

“I wanted to talk to you about John,” she said as she sat down.

“What about him?”

“He wants to get to know you,” Susan explained. “He knows about your accomplishments as a doctor, we all do. But he wants to get to know you.”

“And I want to ignore him as much as possible,” Reid sighed. “There is every possibility that he isn’t my father.”

“And there’s every possibility that he is,” she argued. “John is a good man. He would be a good father to you, if you give him a chance.”

“Is there anything else, Dr. Stewart?”

She sighed. “No, there’s not.”

“Then don’t you have some work to do,” he said as he gave her a look.

She nodded and left the office.

Reid concentrated on his work for the rest of the day. He avoided John and Susan as much as he could. It felt like an eternity before he was able to go home. When he got there, he saw Luke was in the kitchen. He went in and sat at their table. Luke turned from the stove and looked at him. “Rough day?”

“Dr. Stewart thinks I should embrace Dr. Dixon as my father and forget I ever had another father.”

“I’m sure she didn’t mean that,” Luke said as he went to the fridge and got Reid a beer.

“I don’t know,” Reid sighed. “I kind of wish I never brought Dixon back to Oakdale.”

“If you hadn’t, Chris might not be alive right now,” Luke pointed out.

“You’re right,” he said as he looked over at the stove. “What are you making?”

“Your favorite.”

“According to you, everything’s my favorite,” he said as he got up and looked in the pot. He practically drooled. “Chili.”

“You have time to get cleaned up if you want to,” Luke said as he gave Reid a kiss. “I know you like to take a shower after you get back from the hospital.”

“And that’s usually after I’ve gone for a run,” he said as he looked down at his walking cast. “Too bad it’s not a running cast.”

“It’s only another couple of weeks. Your physical therapist said it should be strong enough for you to start running again after it comes off.”

“I know,” Reid said as he got up. “I think I will go take that shower.”

Luke just nodded as he watched Reid go upstairs. He turned back to the chili. He had just taken it off the stove and was putting it into bowls when Reid came back down. Reid grinned when he sat down at the table. He took one bite and groaned in pleasure. “So much better than Al’s.”

“Don’t let Henry hear you say that,” Luke laughed. “My dad and Molly are thrilled to hear we’re getting married.”

“And your mother?” Reid asked as Luke looked down. 

“I haven’t told her yet.”

“Luke, you have to talk to her sometime.”

“I know. Dad told me he told her about the DNA tests. Well, mine anyway. I’ll go over there tomorrow before I go to the office.”

Reid nodded and they finished eating. That night they went upstairs and held onto each other for a long time before they made love. They fell asleep in each other’s arms.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, after Reid left for work, Luke did everything he could around the house until he had no choice but to leave. He drove to his mother’s house and tried to figure out what he was going to say to her. As far as he knew, she still believed that Noah didn’t try to kill him. 

He walked up to the door and knocked. She opened the door and smiled. “Luke, you know you don’t have to knock,” she said as she let him in.

“I didn’t know if I would be welcome,” he said as he went inside.

“Of course you are, sweetie,” Lily said as she motioned for him to sit down. He sat on the couch and she sat in the chair beside it. “Your father told me about the blood type and DNA tests.”

“Yeah, we got the blood type test back,” Luke sighed. “Turns out my blood type is A+.”

“And the DNA?”

“We won’t know until tomorrow. Mom, I need to talk to you about what happened with Noah.”

“I know he tried to kill you,” Lily said softly. “I know he was obsessed with taking you to LA. And I know part of that is my fault.”

“Mom…”

“No, it is,” she said as she held a hand up. “I encouraged him to try to get you back. I didn’t think Dr. Oliver had the best intentions in mind when he started seeing you.”

“Yes, but Noah made the decision to ram into Reid’s car,” Luke argued. “He made the decision to try to kill Reid. He thought I was still living here. He had no idea I was in the car that night.”

“I went to see him,” Lily admitted.

“Why?”

“Because I had to know why he did it. He told me that he had to get Reid out of your life. He told me that the only way to get you back was to kill Reid and force you to go to LA with him. He said that was what he and I both wanted. I told him I never wanted Reid dead. I told him I never wanted you hurt. And that’s the truth, Luke. I never wanted you hurt. I thought I was doing the right thing when I sent Noah to your office that day, but all it did was drive you further away and feed his obsession.”

“Mom, I don’t know why Noah decided that the best way to get me back was to kill Reid, but it wasn’t because of you,” Luke said as he moved forward on the couch. “He may have been influenced by his father’s actions but not you.”

“I drove by your house the other day,” Lily admitted.

“Why didn’t you stop?”

“I wasn’t sure I would be welcome. After your accident, I called my mother. I went over to her house and I told her we needed a battle plan to get you back. She asked me what I was supposed to be getting you back from. I said Reid, Holden and Molly. She said if I had lost you to them it was my fault. She told me I was doing the same things to you that she did to me. I tried to deny it but she made me realize just what I was doing. I’ve stayed away all of this time because I didn’t know how to tell you how sorry I am.”

Luke smiled. “You just did.”

He got up and held his arms out to her. She smiled as she got up and hugged him. When they parted, he looked at her. “You know, you might want to get to know Reid better. He’s going to be your son-in-law.”

“You’re getting married?” she asked surprised.

“He asked me yesterday,” Luke confirmed.

“That’s wonderful, sweetheart.”

“I’m glad you feel that way because he might wind up being your step-brother as well.”

“What?” she asked confused.

He sighed. “John Dixon claims that he had an affair with Reid’s mother. He claims that Reid’s mother told John that his father couldn’t have kids. He says he and Reid have the same blood type. Reid took a DNA test yesterday too.”

“That must have thrown Reid for a loop.”

“It has,” Luke admitted. “He’s been trying to process it ever since John dropped this on him. He hopes that it all comes back and tells him that his father was Matthew Oliver, not John Dixon.”

“And you’ll find out for sure tomorrow as well?”

“Yeah, we will.”

“Bring Reid over for dinner tonight. It’ll give us both a chance to get to know each other better.”

He nodded and got up to go to work. He called Reid and told him how well the visit with his mother had gone. Reid wasn’t sure about dinner but he agreed to go. That night, Lily and Reid got to know each other. She promised them she would meet them at the hospital the next day for the DNA results. She also said she would be willing to help them with their wedding plans.

When Luke came down the next morning, he found Reid sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in his hands. He poured himself a cup and looked at his fiancé. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

Reid just shook his head. He looked up at Luke. “What if he is my father, Luke?”

“We’ve talked about this,” Luke said as he sat beside Reid. “Biology doesn’t change what’s in your heart. He might be your father biologically, but Matthew was your father in every other way that counted.”

“I can’t help thinking what would have happened if he had stepped up when Mom and Dad died.”

“From what he told you, he didn’t know you existed. How did you wind up with his direct line information anyway?”

“Dad’s partner at his law firm had it. I called him the other day and asked him why Dad would have had him make sure he always had John Dixon’s direct line information. He said Dad never told him.”

“I think it means your father knew all along and it never changed the way he felt about you.”

Reid just nodded. “You want some breakfast?”

“Let’s stop by Al’s on the way to the hospital,” Luke suggested as he got up. “I’m going to go take a shower.”

Reid watched him leave then sighed. He knew he had to get dressed and get this over with. Just because he didn’t want to find out the results of his DNA test didn’t change the fact that they would come in and one way or another he would discover the truth. He got up and went upstairs to get dressed. After Luke got out of the shower and got dressed, they went to Al’s. Katie and Chris were there with Jacob and they joined the couple. “So I heard something about DNA tests through the hospital grapevine,” Chris said as Henry came over and gave them some coffee.

“Yeah, Luke found out his blood type was entered into the system wrong and he had it retyped,” Reid said. “Now we’re waiting to find out if Holden is his father or not.”

“According to the lab, there are two paternity tests being run,” Chris noted.

Reid looked at Luke. “It’s up to you,” Luke said.

Reid sighed. “All right, but you can’t tell your sister or Casey,” he said as he looked at Katie, then he looked at Chris. “Your mom and dad know though.”

“Know what?” Katie asked.

“There is a slight possibility that Matthew Oliver isn’t my father.”

“Then who?” Chris asked, then he realized. “John Dixon. That’s why you don’t want to tell Margo or Casey.”

Reid nodded. They tried to process what they had just heard. Chris couldn’t imagine what his former rival was going through. “Do you want me to be there?”

“That’s okay, Chris,” Reid said as he waved his hand. “Luke will be there and so will Holden and Lily. I just hope he doesn’t want to force his way into my life. Not to mention how he’s going to feel about having a gay son.”

“You said when he came to talk to you he was concerned about Rh compatibility if we decided to have kids,” Luke said as he took Reid’s hand. “That has to be some indication that he’s okay with it.”

“Yeah maybe,” Reid shrugged. “And what do you mean if we decide to have kids, Mr. Snyder. I think we both know eventually there will be rugrats running around our house.”

“You sure?” Luke asked softly. 

“I’m sure,” he said as his phone indicated a text message. He looked and frowned. “Dr. Stewart has the test results.”

“I’ll call my parents to have them meet you at the hospital,” Chris said as Reid nodded and he and Luke got up.

Luke called his parents and when they got there, Lily, Holden, Bob and Kim were waiting for them. They went up to the lab and Susan and John were waiting for them. “Do Luke’s first,” Reid said as Susan nodded.

She picked up the folder with Luke’s DNA results. “The DNA indicates that Luke is deifnatly a Snyder. You’re his father, Holden.”

Holden grinned as Luke turned around and hugged him. Luke let go and looked at Lily who hugged him as well. He turned back to Reid and took his hand. “Go ahead, Susan,” Bob said as he put a hand on Reid’s shoulder.


	10. Chapter 10

Susan picked up the other folder and opened it. “The test results are conclusive. John is Reid’s father.”

Reid just nodded his head and turned and walked out of the lab. Luke went after him. John started to but Bob stopped him. “Leave him for now, John. Let him process this. He just found out that the father who loved him with all his heart isn’t his father. Give him some time to deal with that.”

John nodded and left the lab. Kim looked at Bob. “Why don’t you and Holden go find them? Lily and I will meet you at our house.”

Bob nodded and he and Holden left the lab. Kim turned to face Susan. “You’re happy about this.”

“I never said that, Kim,” Susan said as she held her hands up.

“Reid called Bob and told him about your conversation. Really, Susan, you couldn’t just let him come to terms with this on his own? You had to plead John’s case? Stay out of this, Susan.”

“Why are you involved?” Susan asked. “This doesn’t concern you.”

“Actually, it does,” Lily said as she looked at Susan. “Reid is Andy’s brother. Kim is Andy’s mother. So it concerns her more than it concerns you. Unless, of course, you’re trying to score points with John to separate him from my mother again. Or did you forget that John and Mother got married again not long after he came back?”

They started out of the lab before Lily turned and looked at Susan again. “Oh, I talked to Mother yesterday after I found out what was going on. She said she had your assistant send all of the samples to an independent lab. Those results will be at Worldwide in an hour and she will call me with the results.”

“I didn’t fake the results, Lily,” Susan said as she glared at the younger woman. 

“I’m not saying you did, but the second set of results will be impartial.”

Susan just watched as they left the lab. She thought about what Lily had said. Had she pleaded John’s case to Reid because she wanted him to get back together with her? She wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she had not altered the test results. John Dixon really was Reid Oliver’s father. She decided to let the independent lab confirm what she had already told them.

Bob and Holden found Reid and Luke in the atrium of the hospital. Luke had his arm around Reid, who had his head in his hands. They approached the younger men slowly. “Reid,” Bob said as they stopped in front of them.

Reid looked up and Bob and Holden were surprised. They had never seen Reid Oliver with tears in his eyes before. The look on Luke’s face indicated that he had. Holden knelt in front of his future son-in-law. “Reid, I can’t imagine what you are going through right now. And I know we’ve all told you that no matter what happened, your dad would always be your dad. I just want you to know, that Molly, Mama and I are all on your side. If you don’t want to have any part of John Dixon in your life, we will support that.”

Reid nodded as Bob sat down beside him. Reid looked at the older man. “How come you couldn’t have slept with my mother nine months before I was born?”

Bob laughed a little. Then he put his hand on Reid’s shoulder. “I know you don’t know what to do about John right now, but what about Margo and Casey? She’s your sister and he’s your nephew.”

Reid looked at Luke then back at Bob. “I want to talk to them. I also want to talk to the other brothers.”

“Kim and Lily went over to my house. Why don’t we go over there and meet them and I can have Tom and Margo meet us? We can call Casey and see if he and Allison can come over as well. I know he’s started back at Oakdale U. He might not be able to come over until tonight.”

“Allison’s working today,” Reid said as Luke got up. 

“I’ll go find her and meet you at the car, okay?”

Reid nodded as he and Bob got up. He left with Holden and Bob while Luke went to find Allison. After Luke found Allison and she told him she would call Casey and meet them as soon as they could, he went to join Reid at the car. Reid was quiet the entire ride to Bob and Kim’s house. Luke wasn’t sure what was going on in Reid’s mind. He just knew that he had to be there for his fiancé in every way he could.

When they got there, Kim led them into the living room and put a cup of tea in Reid’s hand. “Lily called Emma and Molly. Emma said they would be here as soon as she got your favorite pie out of the oven.”

Reid smiled as he looked over at the fireplace and saw a picture of Nancy. “I wish she was here right now. She’d know exactly what to say.”

“Mom always did,” Bob said as he sat down on the couch. “And I know how fond she was of you and Luke.”

Reid nodded as Tom and Margo came in. “Dad, what’s going on?” Tom asked as he saw who was in the living room.

“Do you want to tell them now or wait for Casey?” Bob asked Reid.

“Go ahead,” Reid said. “Allison told Luke Casey’s class won’t end for another half hour. We can tell them when they get here.”

“Tell us what?” Margo asked, concern for her son and daughter-in-law in her voice.

“John went to see Reid a few days ago,” Bob said as Margo looked at her father-in-law. “He told Reid that he knew Reid’s mother. To make a long story short, we found out today, that John is Reid’s father.”

“What?” Margo asked as she sat on the couch and looked at the younger man.

“Surprise, I’m your brother,” he said as a small smile ghosted his lips.

“What made John so sure he was Reid’s father?” Tom asked as he sat beside his wife. “What made him doubt that Reid’s dad was his father?”

“It turns out my dad couldn’t have children,” Reid said as he sat down his tea cup. “He and my mom knew that and she apparently told John.”

“So he’s known this since he came back to town and waited until now to say something about it?”

“I don’t know for sure how long he’s known. He told me he looked at my cart after Mr. Mayer tried to kill me and noticed my blood type was the same as his.”

“He may not have thought about it until he saw your mother’s name,” Lily suggested. “How many Olivers are there out there?”

“It’s possible,” Margo said as she looked at Reid. “Listen, I can tell you how it feels to be an adult and find out the man you thought was your father isn’t. I can tell you that it is shocking to find out your father is John Dixon. I can also tell you he can be one of the most infurating men I have ever met.”

She reached out and took the younger man’s hand. Reid looked at their hands for a moment then he looked at her. “I can also tell you that I am an overprotective big sister. You can ask Katie about that. I know you’re a good man. She’s told me that. I’ve seen you with Luke and Jacob. I’ve seen you with your patients. And I know this isn’t going to mean much to you right now, but I am proud to find out you’re my brother.”

Reid nodded and soon found himself in a hug. When he pulled back he smiled a little. “I don’t know how good a brother I will be. I’ve never been one before.”

“Yes you have,” Luke argued. “You’ve been a brother to Katie pretty much ever since you started living with her. Why do you think she asked you to walk her down the aisle when she and Chris got married?”

Reid nodded and looked at Margo. “I don’t know anything about being an uncle either. Casey and I didn’t hit it off very well.”

“He’s said you’ve mellowed since you started your relationship with Luke,” she said as she smiled at Luke. “He has always been willing to give people a second chance. And that may be because we had to give him a second chance.”

Reid nodded as he got up and started to pace the living room. He looked at them. “I know you all mean well. I know you’re all on my side. I just don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Tom got up and walked over to him. “You’re allowed to not know what you’re going to do. You’re allowed to be lost in this situation. Anyone would. John and I haven’t always gotten a long so I’m not going to sing his praises and tell you that you should embrace him as your father. What I am going to tell you is that you have a young man over there who loves you with all his heart. We can all see that. He’s your family now. So are Margo, Casey and Katie. Not to mention my dad and Kim. And I’m going to tell you something. I am going to be proud to tell people that Dr. Reid Oliver is my brother-in-law.”

Reid nodded as Emma and Molly came in. Emma gave the pie she was holding to Molly and went straight over to Reid. She embraced him. “Are you all right?”

“I will be,” he said as he smiled at her. “I hear you brought pie.”

Emma laughed. “Yes. I actually made two. I needed to make sure there was enough to go around. Kim, do you mind?”

“Not at all,” Kim smiled as she led Molly and Emma into the kitchen.

Luke took Reid out to the back yard. They sat down in two of the lounge chairs. “We can always leave,” he suggested.

“And miss Emma’s pie?” Reid laughed. He took Luke’s hand. “I’m okay. I’m all right with having a big sister and two big brothers. I’m okay with having a little brother. I’m okay with having a niece and two nephews. It’s John Dixon I’m not sure about. People keep telling me he is a good man then they turn around and tell me they’ve been hurt by him. I don’t want that in my life or in our family’s life.”

Luke nodded as he looked up. “What are you doing here?” he asked surprised.

Reid turned around to see John standing there. “I don’t want to talk to you,” he said as he stood up.

“Reid, please, I…”

“I don’t care,” Reid said as he took Luke’s hand. “Come on, we have pie to eat.”

They went back inside the house and Reid wasn’t surprised that John followed them. “John, what are you doing here?” Bob asked.

“I’ve come to talk to my son,” John said as he looked around the room. “I see you told Margo.”

“Yes, John, they told me,” she said as she walked over to her father. “I know Reid is my brother. I also know you have to give him time to adjust to this. Let him come to you.”

“I’ve missed enough time already,” John argued.

“John, do you remember when you found out Duke was your son,” Bob said as he walked over to him. “Do you remember trying to force yourself into his life? You almost lost him. Do you want the same thing to happen with Reid?”

“Why are you trying to steal my son?”

“Oh my god!” Reid said as John turned to him. “Is that why you’re here? You think I’m too close to Bob? Let me settle something for you right now. There have been only two people in my life that have ever cared for me the way a father should. One was Matthew Reid. No matter what that DNA test said today he is my father, you got that?”

John nodded and Reid continued. “Yes, Bob has become like a father to me. And that’s because he treated me the way my father would have when I came to this town. He called me out on my bad behavior. He made me see my potential as more than just a brilliant neurosurgeon, which I am by the way. He and Luke and Katie have made me see that I have the potential to be something more. And I can guarantee you that if he had been the one who had come to me to tell me he might have been my father, he would have found a more gentle way to break the news.”

He looked over at Emma. “I was told there was pie.”

“Come here sweetheart,” she said as she took his hand and led him to the dining room.

The doorbell rang and Tom told Bob he would get it and meet everyone in the dining room. He opened the door to find Lucinda standing there with Casey and Allison. He sighed and led them all to the dining room. Margo went over and hugged her son and daughter-in-law as Lucinda walked over to her husband. “I told you to leave him alone,” she scolded.

“He’s my son, I had to see him,” John argued.

“What?” Casey asked as he looked from his mother to Reid. 

Reid just shrugged as Lucinda turned to them. “The independent lab got back to me. Lily called and told me you all were here. I told John to leave well enough alone, but you can see how well he listened.”

“What did the independent lab say?” Kim asked.

“They verified Susan’s findings. Holden is Luke’s father and John is Reid’s father.”

“Whoa,” Casey said as he leaned against the wall. “So you’re my uncle?”

“Luke will be soon,” Reid said as he reached out and took Luke’s hand. “We’re getting married.”

“That’s wonderful,” Kim said as everyone congratulated them.

Reid looked at John. “You have anything to say about that?”

“Reid, why do you think I brought up Luke’s blood type?” John asked as he sighed. “I could see how serious you two are about each other. I wanted to make sure there weren’t any problems down the road.”

“So you’re not just saying that to get on my good side?”

“No, of course not. I know you are still adjusting to all of this and I know I’m pushing this onto you. But we’ve lost so much time.”

“I’m going to eat my pie in the kitchen,” Reid said as he picked up his plate and left the room.

John started to follow him. “Grandpa, stop,” Casey said as he moved in front of his grandfather. “Leave him alone. He doesn’t need you pushing this right now.”

“Why does everyone but Susan not get it?” John asked angrily. “He’s my son. I want to be part of his life.”

Lucinda took his arm and turned him to face her. “You will be. You have to let him come to you. I know how important this is to you. But you will lose him if you force this. Come on, we’ll go home and give him the time he needs.”

She reached out her hand to him. John looked in the direction of the kitchen then he took her hand. She nodded at Lily and led her husband out of the house. Luke went into the kitchen and saw Reid sitting at the counter. “He’s gone.”

“He’s not going to back off, is he?”

“I don’t know,” Luke admitted. “I know Grandmother told him that if he didn’t he would wind up driving you away.”

Reid got up and put his plate in the sink. “Can we go home? I don’t know if I can go back in there right now.”

“Of course,” Luke said as he came over and gave him a kiss. “I’ll tell them. I’ll meet you in the living room.”

They parted and Luke went into the dining room. “He’s overwhelmed right now. I’m going to take him home.”

“Tell him to call me if he needs anything and Chris promised to make sure everything is okay at the hospital,” Bob said.

“I will,” Luke said as Lily came over and gave him a hug. 

“Tell him we all care about him,” she said as he let her go.

“He knows,” Luke smiled. “He’s just not used to having all these people care about him. And Margo, he is happy about part of this. He is happy about having siblings now. It’s something he’s wanted since he was a kid.”

“Tell him we’ll come over when he’s ready,” she said as Luke nodded and left.

They went home and Luke spent the rest of the day making sure Reid was taken care of. He knew that Reid was going through a lot and he didn’t want anyone to bother him. However, real life can never be predictable and Reid had to go to the hospital and perform emergency surgery.


	11. Chapter 11

A few days past before Reid called Margo and asked her and Tom to come over for dinner. He wanted to get to know his sister. He learned about what happened when she had found out John was her father. He learned that she and Tom had been in a similar situation when Adam was born. Tom admitted that part of Adam’s problems steamed from the fact that they hadn’t been honest with him until he was a teenager and then Hal had died. 

Margo was visited at the police station by her father. She told him she would not give him any information about Reid. She told him that she was not going to betray her brother’s trust. She knew he was still processing everything and she asked John to let him have that time.

Andy and Hope arrived in Oakdale in time for Reid’s walking cast to come off. Kim called Reid and asked him and Luke to come to dinner when he was finished at the hospital. Reid and Andy hadn’t met at Nancy’s funeral so this would be their first encounter with each other. Reid pulled up at the house and stopped the car. He looked at the front door for a long time. Luke reached over and took his hand. “We have to go in some time.”

“Yeah, I know,” Reid sighed. “This is different than Margo.”

“How?”

“She didn’t find out John was her father until she was adult. He’s known his father his whole life.”

“And he also knows what it’s like to suddenly discover you have siblings,” Luke reasoned. “Come on. We can’t stay out here forever.”

Bob let them in when Reid rang the doorbell and led them into the living room. Andy got up. “You must be Reid,” he said as he held out his hand. “I’m Andy. I guess I’m your big brother.”

“I guess so,” Reid said as he smiled a little. “And who is this lovely young woman you’ve brought with you?”

Andy smiled and held out his hand to his daughter. “This is my daughter, Hope.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Hope said as she shook Reid’s hand. “Daddy told me that you just found out you’re his brother.”

“That’s right,” Reid said as he looked over at Kim who gave him an encouraging smile. “Your grandma has been telling me all about you and your dad. She even told me how your grandpa surprised her one time by bringing you to see her at Christmas when you were little.”

“Yeah he did,” Hope said as they walked over to where Bob and Kim were standing. “I know why you’re mad at him though. I think I would be mad too if someone told me my dad was someone else.”

“Got a smart kid here, Andy,” Reid said as they all sat down.

“Yeah, she is,” Andy said as he smiled at his daughter. “She’s already applying for colleges and she doesn’t even graduate until next year. And they’re offering her scholarships.”

“Which schools?” Luke asked.

“Stanford and UCLA are where Dad wants me to go,” Hope said as she gave him a look. “I thought about Oakdale U and Northwestern. I’ve also thought about Harvard.”

“Well, I can recommend Harvard,” Reid grinned. “But ultimately it should be your choice. You shouldn’t go to a college just because someone says that’s where you should go. You should go to that college because it’s the best school for you.”

“He’s right,” Andy agreed. “You need to do what’s best for you.”

“Hope, why don’t you help me in the kitchen while Bob and Luke set the table,” Kim said as she got up.

They followed her out of the living room and Reid looked at Andy. “Well, that was subtle.”

Andy laughed. “Mom knew you and I needed some time to talk alone. Reid, the last time I got a surprise brother, I wasn’t very understanding. Of course it didn’t help that Duke and I were both crazy about the same girl. Didn’t matter in the end. We both lost her to Caleb Snyder.”

“Ah, the infamous Aunt Julie,” Reid nodded. “I can understand if you don’t want me to have anything to do with you or your daughter.”

“I didn’t say that,” Andy said as he held up his hand. “I admit, I didn’t give Duke a good shot at being my brother. But I did that because I was jealous of the attention he was getting from Dad. I know how overwhelming John Dixon can be.”

“Yeah, people keep telling me that. And I have experienced it first hand. He came up to me at the hospital today and asked me if I wanted him to join us tonight.”

Andy sighed. “I’m sorry about that. Hope and I went to see him when we got into town. He knew we were having dinner here tonight with you and Luke. I told him it was up to you. He tried to get Hope to tell Mom that she wanted him to be here. She told him he was pushing you too much.”

“Everyone keeps telling him that but I don’t think he’s listening,” Reid said as he got up and walked over to the fireplace. He looked back at his brother. “I’m not saying I’m never going to let him into my life. Luke and I are going to be getting married soon and I’d kind of like him to be there. But I want to start this relationship on my terms. I want to be the one who decides when we should meet, not him.”

Andy got up and walked over to him. “I’ll talk to him.”

“I’m not sure what good it will do, but go for it,” Reid said as Bob came out and told them dinner was ready.

Over the course of the night, Reid and Andy got to know each other. Andy went and talked to John. He told John what Reid had told him. He told him that Reid was willing to let John into his life, but when he was ready. He told his father that if he wanted to be part of Reid and Luke’s wedding, or even invited for that matter, he needed to let Reid approach him in his own terms.

John called Duke and asked him to come and meet Reid. Duke told him that Reid had already contacted him and Reid and Luke were coming up the next week. John suggested that he come as well but Duke told him the same thing everyone else had. John sighed and hung up. He was starting to realize that everyone was right. He needed to let Reid approach him when he was ready.

Reid and Luke went to New York and met Duke. Reid decided this was the sibling he probably had the most in common with because of the way that John had approached coming into their lives. Duke promised he would come to the wedding. Reid and Luke went to visit Iva, Jason and MJ. 

The first thing Iva did when they came in her house was apologize for judging him the last time they met. Reid said it was all right. He understood. MJ told his mother to let it go and give him a chance to meet his new brother. They went for a walk and MJ told Reid that Jason had been there for him a lot over the years. “It was great when Dad transferred to Johns Hopkins. We were able to do things together. He took me to a couple of Nationals games. He was even okay when I told him that I wanted to become a lawyer. He understood how important Jason is to me.”

“I wish he would understand how important my dad was to me,” Reid sighed.

“He will, just give him time,” MJ said and Reid nodded.

When they got back to Oakdale, Reid and Luke set a date for their wedding. They decided they only wanted two people in their wedding party. Katie would stand up for Reid and Casey would stand up for Luke. Lucinda gave them her present early. It was a honeymoon to Australia. Reid thanked her when she came over with the tickets. Then he did something that surprised her. He asked her if she and John would be willing to have dinner with him and Luke at the Lakeview. She told him to give her the time and date and she would make sure John was there and that he behaved.

It was about a month before the wedding when Luke and Reid arrived at the Lakeview for dinner with John and Lucinda. Luke pulled Reid’s hand away from his tie when they walked into the hotel. “It looks fine and it’s not going to choke you,” Luke said as he held his fiance’s hand.

“I don’t know why I’m nervous,” Reid said as he looked around. “It’s not like I haven’t met them before.”

“Yeah, but the last time we had dinner with them, she was just my grandmother and he was just her husband. Now he’s your father, and, well, she’s your step-mother.”  
Reid looked at him. “Is it wired that your grandmother is my step-mother?”

“Not in this town,” Luke laughed. “You ready?”

“As ready as I’m going to be,” Reid said as they walked into the dining room. 

They saw Lucinda and John were already at the table. John stood up as they approached. “Thank you for asking us to dinner tonight, Reid,” John said as he held his hand out. “I know how hard all of this has been for you.”

“No, you don’t,” Reid said as he looked at him. “But your other children do. And they encouraged me to give you a chance. Know this though, it’ll just be one chance. I won’t be hurt again.”

"I can understand that," John said as he started to withdraw his hand.

Reid reached over and shook it before he could. They sat down and ate. Reid laid down some ground rules for John. John couldn’t demand Reid’s time. He had to respect his personal space. He had to let everything flow at Reid’s pace. John agreed. He told Reid that even if it was just a small part it was a start and he was willing to take what he could get.


	12. Chapter 12

The day of the wedding arrived and Reid knew his life had been leading up to this moment. Luke had never looked happier. Reid knew that if he hadn’t allowed himself to be blackmailed into coming to Oakdale none of this would be happening and he was okay with that. Yes, he could have stayed in Dallas and lived in blissful ignorance about who his father was biologically but he wouldn’t have met Luke and that was unacceptable.

At the reception, Katie came up to the newlyweds and reveled a secret. She told them that she was pregnant. She and Chris had known for a couple of weeks but they were waiting until after the wedding to announce it because they didn’t want to steal the spotlight from their friends. The newlyweds congratulated the expectant couple and Reid called dibs on godfather duties.

They were on a plane to Melbourne when Damien Grimaldi walked into Noah Mayer’s cell and threw down the society page. “Dr. Oliver married my son.”

“What do you want me to do about it?” Noah asked as he looked up at the man.

“Nothing,” Damien said as he pulled Noah up. “If you had done what you were supposed to do, Dr. Oliver would be dead and you would be controlling my son’s future, like we had planned. Now you are worthless to me.”

“He’s not your son,” Noah said as he glared at the older man. “My lawyer told me they found out Holden Snyder is his father.”

“My mother made sure that no one ever found out the truth.”

“Well your mother apparently never counted on Luke needing a kidney transplant or John Dixon noticing the error.”

“Thank you, Mr. Mayer,” Damien grinned. “That was valuable information.”

“So I’m still of use to you,” Noah smirked.

“Not in the slightest,” Damien said as he stabbed Noah with the shank he had brought with him.

Noah looked at him in surprise as the weapon hit home and he bled to death. Damien grabbed the paper and cover his hand as he walked out of the cell. He went to the showers and cleaned himself off before he approached the waiting guard. “You have two weeks to get me out of here,” he said as he looked at the guard. “And if anyone connects me to what happened to Mayer Jr…”

“Don’t worry,” the guard said as he looked around him. “I have a patsy all ready to go down for it.”

“You better,” Damien said as he walked back to his cell. 

Three weeks later, Luke and Reid arrived back in Oakdale from their honeymoon. They were met by Jack and Margo. “What’s going on?” Reid asked as he looked at his sister and his cousin-in-law.

“Luke, there’s no easy way to say this, but Noah was killed in prison,” Margo said as she looked at her brother-in-law.

“What?” Luke asked surprised. Reid put his arm around his husband as Luke asked Margo what had happened.

“He was stabbed by another inmate. We have reason to believe he had been working for this inmate but he failed. The inmate escaped last week.”

“What inmate?”

Reid just looked at his sister. “Tell me you’re joking, Margo. Tell me Damien Grimaldi didn’t do this.”

“I wish I could,” she sighed. “His whereabouts are unknown at the moment.”

“You two aren’t here because you wanted to tell us Mr. Mayer is dead and Grimaldi escaped,” Reid concluded. “You’re here because you think he’ll show up here.”

“Let’s get your bags,” Jack said as he led them to the baggage claim. 

As Reid and Jack got the bags, Margo looked at her brother-in-law. “Are you all right?” she asked.

“I thought after we found out that Damien wasn’t my father, it would be over,” Luke said as he looked at her. “I thought I would finally be free of all that drama.”

“Maybe word about the DNA tests didn’t reach him in prison,” she suggested. “I know we didn’t serve an order for him to submit a sample.”

“That was because Susan said we didn’t need it. We only needed mine and Dad’s. Margo, I don’t want to hide for this man. I don’t want to turn my life upside down because this man escaped from prison, again I might add.”

“Luke, it might be for the best,” she said as Jack and Reid came back with the bags.

“No, I have work at the Foundation and we’re dedicating the new wing in a few days. And I’m not going anywhere without Reid. He can’t leave the hospital.”

“Luke…” she started.

“No,” he said as he held his hand up. “We’re going to go home. You and Jack are going to do everything you can to find Damien and put him back in jail where he belongs.”

Luke stared out of the airport before she could say anything else. Reid hurried to catch up to him. “Luke, stop,” he said as he grabbed his husband’s arm. “Are you sure about this? Are you sure you don’t want to somewhere safe?”

“Where, Reid?” Luke asked frustrated. “Where could I possibly go where he won’t find me? He could be here watching us right now. That’s why Margo and Jack are here. If he is here, he can follow us to wherever this safe place is. I just want to go home and live our lives like this never happened.”

He turned to walk away but Reid pulled him into an embrace. “I know you are scared. I am too. I’m scared that this psychopath is going to hurt you and there won’t be a damn thing I can do about it. I know he could be here and I hope he is. You hear that Damien Grimaldi! We’re not going to hide from you! And you’re not going to hurt my husband, not now, not ever again!”

He looked at Luke. “Let’s go home.”

Luke nodded and they let Margo and Jack take them home. Reid was frustrated when Margo insisted she and Jack search the house before they went inside. They got the all clear and went inside. Luke took the bags to their bedroom as Reid looked at the detectives. “How much danger is he really in?”

“We don’t think its Luke that’s in danger, we think it’s you,” Margo admitted.

“Me? Why?”

“Damien wants to control my life,” Luke said as he came down the stairs. “You’re not the chosen spouse for me. You’re probably not even the chosen sex. He didn’t really approve of Noah, but Noah could keep me in line. You let me be my own person. Damien can’t have that.”

“So this is about control?”

Luke nodded and Jack continued. “We’ve got patrols going by your mother’s house and we’ve notified the police in DC. I don’t think he’ll go after Meg, he sees her as damaged goods now. But it never hurts to be safe. If you two really want to stay here we can have patrols come by here as well.”

“We can’t have you devoting all the resources of the Oakdale police department to protecting us,” Luke said as he sat down on the couch.

“We can’t leave you without protection either,” Margo argued.

“Maybe we should go to Grandmother’s for a while,” Luke said as he looked at Reid. “You can’t get on the estate without going past the guards at the gate and you know she won’t let him on the property.”

“Yeah, okay, but where would we stay?” Reid said as he sat beside him. “You said you won’t live in the carriage house.”

“How about I call Lucinda and ask her about you coming there?” Margo suggested. “She would know more about the security of the estate than I would.”

Reid nodded and Margo called her step-mother. Luke got up and went to the kitchen. Jack followed him. “Are you all right?”

“No, Jack, I’m not all right,” Luke sighed as he got out a beer. “I spent most of my life thinking that man was my father and not knowing if he was going to kidnap me or not. I thought that would be over when I found out Holden was my father. I thought that everything would Noah would end when he went to jail, but now he’s been murdered and it was probably because of me.”

Jack went over and took the bottle from his cousin. “I’m sorry that you have to go through this. But drinking this is not the answer.”

“I was getting that for Reid,” Luke said as he looked out the kitchen window.

“Luke, look me in the eye and tell me that.”

Luke turned and looked at the older man. “I can’t tell you that.”

Jack put the beer back in the fridge. “I’m not going to tell Reid about this. But maybe you should. You need his support right now. You know that and so do I.”

Luke nodded and they went back into the living room. Margo got off the phone and looked at him. “Lucinda said she will have the West Wing set up for you and Reid. She said she understands why you can’t stay in the carriage house and that she and John won’t bother you while you’re in that wing. She will have her guards alerted and she has a private detective on standby.”

He nodded and looked at Reid. “I’m going to go pack us a few things.”

“Do you want me to help you?” Reid asked as he stood up.

“No, I’ll just be a minute,” Luke said as he went upstairs.

Reid looked at the detectives. “I don’t know Grimaldi very well. I think the closest I came to interacting with him was during Mr. Mayer’s treatments. I don’t know what he’s capable of. You do. Will he be safe at the estate?”

“Yes he will,” Margo said as she looked at him. “Reid, I can’t protect him 24/7. He’s right. I can’t devote the entire resources of the Oakdale Police Department to protecting him. I can’t 100% guarantee that Damien won’t come to the estate but I can promise that he will be safer than he will be here. So will you.”

Reid nodded as Luke came down. He nodded as his husband and they followed Jack and Margo out of the house. When they arrived at the estate, Lucinda and John were waiting for them in the entry way. “I’ll have Matthew take your things up to the west wing. I’ve called your mother and told her you will be staying here for the time being.”

Luke nodded as they went into the living room. “I’ve had my head of security distribute photos of Mr. Grimaldi to each of the guards.”

“Thank you Grandmother,” Luke said as he looked at Reid. “If it’s all right, I’d really like to go lay down. It was a long flight.”

“Of course, darling,” she said as he got up and left the room. 

“He’s been like this ever since we left the airport,” Reid sighed. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to reassure him that he is safe.”

John came over and put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “You reassure him by being there for him. You let him know that he is safe here, or as safe as he can be. You take care of him and let him know how much you love him.”

Reid nodded. Then he looked around. “Which way to the west wing?” 

“I’ll show you,” John said as he walked him out of the room.

Lucinda watched them leave then she turned to the detectives. “I want to know how that man got out of prison. I want to know who let this happen.”

“It looks like he had help from a guard,” Margo sighed. “He tried to make it look like someone else had killed Noah but some of the other inmates saw him enter Noah’s cell. After he left they went in and found Noah dead. The guard tried to blame another prisoner. They were moving Damien to a Supermax facility when he escaped.”

Lucinda walked up to her and looked her straight in the eye. “I want you to find him. I want you to find him and make sure he can never hurt my grandson again. I want you to find him before he does something to your brother. Because we both know who Damien’s first target is going to be, don’t we?”

Margo nodded and looked at Jack. “We better get back to work.”

Jack nodded and looked at Lucinda. “Tell Luke to call me if he needs anything.”

“I will.”

John led Reid up to the west wing and to the door of the room he and Luke were staying in. “It’s easy to get lost in this place. I know I did the first time I lived here. If you need anything, just let me know. And Reid, I will respect your privacy. I’ll only come back up here if invited.”

“Thank you, John,” Reid said as he shook his father’s hand. “I appreciate everything you and Lucinda have done today. I’ll see if Luke feels like joining you two for dinner.”

“If he doesn’t the cook can have something sent up here,” John promised. “And Reid, I’d tell you not to worry, but I know better. I’ll see you later.”

Reid nodded as he watched him walk away. He slowly opened the door and found Luke sitting on the bed holding a pillow to his chest. “Damien won’t get you in here,” he said as he sat in front of his husband.

“I’m not worried about Damien,”’ Luke admitted.

“What are you worried about?”

“Before we left the house, when I went into the kitchen and Jack followed me, I got out a beer,” Luke said as he looked down at the bed.

“You were going to bring it out to me?” Reid asked.

Luke just shook his head. Reid reached over and tipped Luke’s chin up. “You didn’t drink it.”

“No, Jack took it and put it away,” Luke admitted. “But I wanted to. In that moment when I pulled it out of the fridge, I wanted to drink every beer we had.”

Reid pulled him into his arms. “I understand. I understand that you needed that drink because you didn’t know how to cope with all of the information that had been thrown at you. If you had drank that beer, I wouldn’t have blamed you.”

“I would have,” Luke said as he pulled away from Reid. “I’m an alcoholic, Reid, I can’t just have one beer.  
”  
“I know that, but I also know that you just found out that your first love had been murdered in prison and that the man you had grown up thinking was your biological father had committed the crime. I don’t think anyone would have blamed you if you had taken a drink.”

“Noah would have.”

“We’re not going to discuss the faults of the late Mr. Mayer,” Reid said as he touched Luke’s face. “We’re not going to discuss Damien Grimaldi and we’re not going to discuss the fact that we’re in your grandmother’s house. What we will do is pretend we never got off the plane. Better yet, we’ll pretend this is our own private island. John said we don’t have to go downstairs if we don’t want.”

Luke smiled. “I’d like that.”

“Good answer Mr. Snyder-Oliver,” Reid said as he kissed his husband.

The next morning, Luke and Reid joined Lucinda and John for breakfast. Luke looked at the older couple. “I’m sorry I was so rude yesterday when we arrived.”

“Darling, you have nothing to worry about,” Lucinda said as she waved a hand. “You had just returned from your honeymoon to hear that a psychopath had escaped from prison after killing someone you once cared about. I would have been surprised if you had been chatty.”

He nodded as he took a sip of his coffee. “I need to go to the office today. There are some files I need to go over and applications for grants that need to be read through. Not to mention finalizing the ribbon cutting ceremony for the neurology wing.”

“Well, isn’t it lucky that I have your assistant bringing your laptop and files over in an hour,” Lucinda said as she smiled at her grandson.

“Grandmother, I have to go to work sometime,” Luke argued.

“I know you do, Darling, but until we have implemented a security plan at the Foundation, you would be safer here.”

“The Foundation offices are at Worldwide.”

“Yes, they are, but they have easy access, at your request. Give me a day to have the security team finish implementing their plan and then we’ll both go into the office tomorrow.”

“What about Reid?” Luke asked as he looked at his husband. 

“Security at the hospital is pretty tight,” Reid said as he took Luke’s hand. “I don’t have any surgeries scheduled for today and I’ll mostly be catching up on paperwork. My assistant will alert security if she sees anyone suspious lurking near my office. And I’ll be riding in with John.”

“Yes, Lucinda’s driver is taking us to the hospital and picking us up this afternoon,” John said as he looked at his son-in-law. “He will be okay at the hospital, Luke.”

Luke put down his coffee and sighed. “I hate this. I hate having to take these precautions. I hate having to make everyone readjust their lives because of me.”

“It’s not because of you,” John said as he looked him in the eye. “You didn’t cause this. You are not responsible for Damien’s actions, he is. Luke, you’re family and you know Lucinda would move mountains for her family, so would I and so would Reid.”

Luke nodded and finished eating his breakfast. After they finished eating, Luke and Lucinda walked their husbands to the front door. Reid wasn’t totally comfortable being driven to work but he knew he had to in order to ease Luke’s mind. He still didn’t think Damien would come after him, but if taking the precautions would make his husband feel better, he would do it.

He waved as the car pulled away from the house then he turned and faced the front. Then he looked over at John. “Thank you for what you said to Luke. I’ve been trying to convince him for some time now that he cannot blame himself for other people’s actions. And he can’t fix everything.”

“I know he’s going through a lot right now,” John shrugged. “The least I could do was tell him none of this is his fault, because it isn’t. Hopefully he’ll see that soon enough.”  
Reid nodded. After they got to the hospital, Reid asked John if he would meet him and Chris in the cafeteria for lunch. John smiled and agreed. Reid sent a text to Chris letting him know about the lunch and asking to meet him in his office. He also had the head of security come up to his office. Chris came in while he was still talking to the head of security. “Don’t worry, Dr. Snyder-Oliver, we will make sure this guy gets nowhere near you if he shows up here.”

Reid nodded as the man left. Chris looked at him. “What was all of that about?”

“Damien Grimaldi escaped from prison after killing Noah Mayer,” Reid said as he sat back in his chair. 

“You’re kidding,” Chris said as he sat down. “How’s Luke handling all of this?”

“Not very well,” Reid admitted. “He told me he nearly took a drink last night. Jack stopped him. I told him I understood why he would do that. I also told him that none of this is his fault. Lucinda and John told him the same thing.”

“They were at your house?”

“No, believe it or not, we’re staying at their estate until Damien is found.”

Chris’s eyebrows went up. “You’re actually voluntarily staying with John?”

“We have the whole west wing to ourselves,” Reid said as he rolled his eyes. “How did this become my life? How did I end up staying in Lucinda Walsh’s house?”

“You fell in love,” Chris laughed. “If only our fellow med school students could see you now.”

Reid groaned. “You know, you’re supposed to be on my side now.”

“I am,” Chris said as he held up his hand. “So what is this about you wanting us to have lunch with John?”

“I can’t leave the hospital for lunch and I thought it might be a good idea if you were with us.”

“You want backup,” Chris concluded.

“Things are still awkward with me and John. A little backup wouldn’t hurt.”

“I understand,” Chris said as he got up. “Well, if we’re going to have lunch, I better let you start on that paperwork.”

Reid just waved him off.


	13. Chapter 13

Lily arrived not long after Luke’s assistant had left. Luke was sitting in the living room going over some of the files he had been brought when his mother came in. “Luke are you all right?” she asked as she sat in the chair across from him.

“I’m as all right as I can be right now,” he sighed. “I can’t believe he killed Noah.”

“Neither can I,” she sighed. “I wish I had never heard of Damien Grimaldi.”

“No offense, Mom, but I wish you had never heard of him either,” Luke said as he laughed a little.

“How did you get Reid to agree to stay here?”

“He realized that it’s safer here than it is at our house right now,” Luke sighed.

“Why here and not the carriage house?” Lily asked as Luke just gave her a look. “Oh, you won’t stay there because of Noah and Ameera.”

“Can you blame me?”

“No, I can’t,” she said as she reached out and took her son’s hand. “You know, I don’t think I ever realized how much it hurt you to go through that wedding. And then when he pushed you away and blamed you for his accident. I never saw how hurt you were by all of that. I just kept pushing him towards you because I had some stupid idea that you should be with your first love.”

“And now?” he asked as she wiped a tear from her eye.

“Now, I see how happy you are with Reid. I see how much he cares about you and how he is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure you’re not hurt. I can’t honestly say that anyone has ever done that for you in your live, and that includes me and your father.”

“Mom, you and Dad…”

“Your father and I kept going back and forth between each other and whoever we decided to pull into our lives at that time and it wasn’t fair to you or your sisters and brother and it’s not fair to us. Your father is happy with Molly and I’m happy by myself.”

“And all of that with Craig?”

“Craig was my mother’s way of teaching me a lesson. I tried to think that I might actually be interested in him, but I think part of me will always be that young woman who was happy for her sister when he came into her life. I wish you could have known Craig when he married Sierra. He was a much different man than he is now.”

Luke nodded as he put down his laptop. “Mom, what do I do? I don’t want to hide here. I don’t want to stay here while Damien is out there looking out there. I don’t like the fact that Reid is out there in the open and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Luke, would Reid be able to do his job if he knew you were in harm’s way?” she asked as he shook his head. “He needs to be able to concentrate on his patients. He’s going to be worried about you no matter where you are. He’s going to be able to concentrate on his job knowing you are here.”

Luke just nodded and accepted Lily’s help going with his work.

The next few days passed with no sign of Damien. Luke was getting frustrated every time Margo or Jack came by to tell them there were still no leads. He had been able to go to his office but he had to be driven. He hated that his and Reid’s lives had been disrupted. Two weeks went by before he finally broke.

He came down into the living room and looked at Reid as he sat with John, playing chess. “We’re going home.”

“What?” Reid asked as he looked up at his husband.

“We’re going home,” Luke said again as Reid gave John a look. His father nodded and got up to leave the two of them alone.

Reid got up and put his hands on his husband’s shoulders. “Luke, we can’t go home, you know that. We’re safer here.”

“We can’t stay here forever,” Luke argued.

“You’re right, we can’t. But we can’t go home yet either. I know how frustrated you are. I am too. But I think the best thing for us right now is to stay here.”

“I love my grandmother, but I can’t deal with being stuck here or the office,” Luke said as he went over and sat down on the couch. “Everyone has to come here and see us. We can’t go anywhere.”

Reid thought about it for a minute. “Let’s go to Al’s.”

“We can’t,” Luke sighed as Reid sat down beside.

“Yes we can. We’ll take John and Lucinda with us. Damien will never approach us if we’re with other people. It will get us out of the routine we’ve been stuck in for the last couple of weeks and you know you want some of Al’s chili.”

Luke thought about it for a minute, then nodded. Reid got up and found John in the next room. He told John they were going to Al’s. John went to get his wife and a few minutes later they were heading to Old Town. They walked in to Al’s and Barbara came right over to them. “Luke, are you sure you should be here?”

“Barbara, I need to get out of the house,” he said as he looked at the older woman. “I need to start to get on with my life. We don’t know when or if Damien is going to show up. He has to know by now that I’m not his son. He doesn’t have any claim on me anymore and I’m tired of living in fear.”

He went over to a booth and sat down. Reid and John went over to join him as Lucinda turned to Barbara. “I have guards close by, Barbara. I will do everything in my power to make sure my grandson is protected.”

“I know you will, Lucinda. Tell him I’m just concerened.”

“He knows, Barbara,” she said as she touched the younger woman’s arm. She went and joined her family at the table. She smiled as she looked at Luke. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a milkshake.”

Luke smiled and nodded. Reid looked at his step-mother. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink a milkshake.”

“When Grandmother had breast cancer, we would come here and have a milkshake,” Luke explained.

“It helped me feel better after the chemotherapy and Luke was excellent company,” she said as Henry came over to take their orders.

They had chili and milkshakes. After they ate, Luke wanted to go for a walk around Old Town. Reid said that sounded like a good idea. He knew Lucinda’s guards wouldn’t be too far behind them. The four of them started to walk away from Al’s when Luke froze. “Luke, what is it?” Reid asked as he looked at his husband.

“Damien,” Luke said softly as he looked ahead of them.

Reid followed his gaze and saw the escaped felon 20 feet in front of them. “Stay here,” he said as he looked at John. “Call Margo.”

“Already dialing,” John said as Reid squeezed Luke’s hand then walked toward Damien.

“Reid, no,” Luke said as Lucinda held him back.

Reid stopped just in front of Damien. “Mr. Grimaldi, so nice of you to arrive just in time to turn yourself in.”

“I’ve done nothing wrong,” Damien said as he looked past Reid to Luke. “I’ve just come to see my son.”

“You don’t have a son,” Reid said as he stepped into Damien’s gaze to make sure he couldn’t look Luke in the eye. “DNA is a wonderful thing. Proves with absolute certainty who a person’s father is.”

“Those results can be falsified,” Damien said as he glared at Reid. 

“Yes, they can,” Reid acknowledged. “Which is why it’s a good thing they were backed up by an independent lab that has no connections to this town or any of its citizens. I think it’s time to make sure you go back to your nice comfy cell.”

Damien pulled a gun out. “I’m not going anywhere without my son. If Mayer had done what he was supposed to do, Luke would be under control by now.”

“Under control?” Reid said as he looked at Damien. “You have got to be kidding me. If you think you are going to get away with any of this, you are sadly mistaken. Now, just give me the gun and when Margo and Jack get here we can put you in nice, shiny bracelets.”

“I am not going back to prison!” Damien said as he raised the gun and Luke froze. He couldn’t believe he was seeing the man he grew up thinking was his biological father pointing a gun directly at his husband.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Damien went to fire his gun. Reid grabbed for it as John rushed towards his son. Henry had come out of the diner and was helping Lucinda hold back Luke as Reid and Damien struggled for the gun. It went off and Luke collapsed against Henry. John got to them just as Margo and Jack arrived. “Reid?” John asked softly as Reid let go of the gun. Damien collapsed to the ground. Reid turned and looked at his father. “I’m okay,” he said as the detectives ran over to them.

“What happened?” Margo asked as she looked at her brother and Jack bent over Damien.

“He was going to shoot Luke,” Reid said as he tried to keep his voice calm. “I grabbed for the gun and it went off. I don’t know which one of us pulled the trigger. If you have to arrest me, send Luke home first. I don’t want him to see that.”

“I’m not going to arrest you,” Margo said as Jack looked up at them and shook his head. “You were protecting your husband and yourself. He probably would have shot you first. He’s never going to hurt anyone anymore.”

Reid just nodded and turned to Luke. As soon as Luke saw that his husband was all right, he broke free from Henry and Lucinda and ran into his arms. “I’m okay, Luke,” Reid said as he held him close. “He didn’t hurt me. And he will never hurt you again.”

“Can we take them home?” John asked Margo.

“Yeah, we can get their statements in the morning,” Margo said as she turned and put her hand on her brother-in-law’s shoulder. “Luke, are you okay?”

Luke just nodded as he held onto Reid. “I just want to go home.”

“I’ll call Holden and tell him what happened,” Jack said. “He can call Lily.”

Reid nodded as he followed Lucinda and John, leading Luke as they walked. When they got back to the estate, John poured Reid a brandy while Lucinda had the maid bring in strong tea for Luke. No one commented on the fact that Luke still hadn’t let go of Reid. John sat in front of his son. “I think you two should stay here tonight. We can keep an eye on him. I think he’s in shock.”

“Yeah, so do I,” Reid said as the maid brought in the tea. “Luke, baby, come on and sit up. You need to drink some tea.”

He looked at John. “Can you put sugar in it for me?”

“Of course,” John said as he poured the tea and put some sugar in as Reid got Luke to sit up. Lucinda came in and told them Lily, Holden and Molly were on their way. “Honestly, I don’t know why Molly’s coming,” Lucinda huffed. “It’s not like…”

“Not now, Lucinda,” John said as he took her hand.

Luke slowly drank the tea then he looked at Reid. “Is he dead?” 

“I don’t know,” Reid said. “I was more concerned with you than with the Maltese answer to The Godfather.”

“Yes, Luke, he’s dead,” John said as Luke looked over at him. 

“Margo’s going to arrest Reid,” Luke said as he started to panic. “She’s going to put him in jail for murder.”

John got up and knelt in front of his son-in-law. “No, she’s not. She said Reid was protecting you. He was protecting all of us. Besides, Damien could have been the one who pulled the trigger. You need to calm down. Drink some more of your tea, then after your parents make sure you’re all right, you and Reid can go up to bed. We’ll get you back to your house tomorrow.”

Luke looked at him for a minute then nodded. Lucinda poured him another cup of tea as Matthew led Lily, Holden and Molly into the house. “Sweetie, are you okay?” Lily said as she rushed over to her son.

“I’m fine, Mom,” Luke said. “Reid protected me.”

“What happened?” Holden asked as he looked at his son-in-law. “I thought you guys were supposed to stay here.”

“It was my fault,” Reid sighed. “Luke was going stir crazy and I suggested we go to Al’s. I thought we would be safe if we all went and the bodyguards were close by. Damien was waiting for us when we left the diner. I left Luke with John and Lucinda and confronted him. He pointed a gun at Luke, and before he could fire, I fought him for it. He’s dead.”

“It’s not your fault,” John said as he looked at his son. “You were right to think we would be safe with the bodyguards. We couldn’t anticipate Damien being brazen enough to stand 30 feet away from the diner. And he wasn’t pointing the gun at Luke, he was pointing it at you. He would have shot you to get to Luke. He would have shot Lucinda and me if we got in his way. I, for one, am thankful for the outcome.”

“So am I,” Holden said as Reid tried to get up so Luke’s parents could get to their son.

Luke wasn’t letting him budge. “Luke, let me get up. I’m just going to stand next to Molly. Let your mom and dad make sure you’re all right while I talk to your step-mother. I won’t be out of your sight, I promise.”

Luke slowly nodded and Reid got up. Holden took his place and Reid went over to where Molly was standing. “How is WOAK handling this?”

“We’re blaming the prison for letting Damien escape in the first place,” Molly said as she looked at Lucinda. “From what I understand the papers are doing the same thing.”

“Mine is, I’m not sure about Emily’s,” Lucinda stated. 

“As long as all of the press leaves Luke alone, that’s all I care about,” Reid said as he turned back to his husband.

Reid waited about half an hour before he went back over to Luke and took his hand to help him off the couch. He apologized to the concerned parents telling them that after everything that had happened, he thought it would be a good idea for them to go to bed. Lily and Holden agreed and promised to stop by the house after they had gotten settled back in. 

When they got to the bedroom, Luke stood there for a minute then turned and looked at Reid. “I could have lost you today,” he said as tears started to form. 

Reid pulled him into his arms. “You didn’t. He is never going to hurt you again.”

Luke just nodded, then he kissed his husband. The passion filled the room. They needed to reconnect to each other after the events of the day. As they started to make love, Reid was grateful they had the entire wing to themselves. He really didn’t want Lucinda or John coming up here right now. Before he could distract himself any further, Luke pulled his shirt off and they fell onto the bed.

After they had made love, Reid held Luke close. Luke lay with his head on Reid’s chest. He let himself fall asleep listening to Reid’s heartbeat. Reid stroked his husband’s hair as he lay in the bed. He knew he should go to sleep, but sleep eluded him. He had lost patients before, but this was the first time he had taken a life. He knew John had told him that Damien could have been the one to pull the trigger, but Reid didn’t know for sure. He heard Luke mumble in his sleep. He whispered to his husband that he was safe and to sleep. 

The next morning, Luke woke up in the bed alone. He almost panicked until he heard the shower running in the bathroom. He sat up in the bed and thought about the events of the night before. He pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them. He thought about his life as Damien Grimaldi’s son. It had always been turbulent. He had been kidnapped more than once. He had nearly been killed. And for what? Greed? He couldn’t think of a single day in his life when Damien actually loved him or made him feel loved. He used and manipulated Luke. He tried to make Luke conform to some standard of what a good Grimaldi should be. He encouraged Luke to blackmail Reid into coming to Oakdale.

Luke smiled at that thought. Reid coming to town had been the best thing that had ever happened to him. Because of Reid, he knew what love actually felt like. Because of Reid, he knew that Holden was his father biologically. Because of Reid, he had confidence in himself. Because of Reid, he knew he didn’t have to be the savior of his family anymore.   
And Damien had tried to take that away from him. He knew Reid would blame himself for what happened last night. It was Reid’s job to save lives, not take them. He also knew that if Reid hadn’t tried to stop Damien, Damien would have shot Reid. He would have killed Reid. And Luke wouldn’t have survived that.

He heard the shower turn off and smiled as Reid came out of the bathroom clad only in a towel. “Dr. Snyder-Oliver, I think I need a complete examination.”

“Oh really, Mr. Snyder-Oliver?” Reid said as he came over to his bed and kissed his husband. Before they could go any further, there was a knock on the door. “I thought they were supposed to leave us alone up here,” he complained as he got up.

“Who is it?” he groused.

“It’s John,” came his father’s voice. “Margo’s here. She needs to take our statements.”

“We’ll be down in a minute,” he said as he turned and looked at Luke. “Are you ready for this?”

“As ready as I’m going to be,” Luke sighed as he got up and they got dressed.

A few minutes later, they came into the living room. Margo got up when she saw them. “I know it’s early but I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible for you.”

“We understand, Margo,” Luke said as Lucinda handed him a cup of coffee. “What do you want to know?”

“What happened when you left the diner?” she asked.

They gave her their accounts of what happened and when they were done, she nodded. “Everything matches up with what everyone else has told us and what we saw on the CCTV. It’s a clear case of self-defense. The DA said there is no way he’s pressing charges. I know it’s going to take time to put all of this behind you, but it is over.”

“Thank you, Margo,” Reid said as she gave him a smile. 

“Katie said to tell you that she expects to see you and Luke over at her house for dinner tonight,” she said as she came over and gave her brother and brother-in-law a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you two later.”

She left and Luke looked at his grandmother. "As much as we appreciate you letting us stay here..."

“You’re ready to go home,” Lucinda said as she held her hand up. “I know, Darling. You two go upstairs and pack. Matthew will come up and get your bags soon. We can get brunch at the Lakeview before we drop you off.”

He nodded as he went over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Grandmother.”

“You’re welcome, my darling boy,” she said as she touched his cheek. “Now go. We’ll be here when you’re finished packing.”

Luke and Reid went upstairs and packed their things. Matthew took everything down to the car as they went to meet Lucinda and John in the living room. After Lucinda and John dropped off Luke and Reid, Reid went through the house to make sure that Damien hadn’t been there. As far as he and Luke could tell, the man had not set foot in their house.


	14. Chapter 14

They had dinner with Chris and Katie and then they slowly started to get back to normal. Luke wanted to put everything behind them, but he knew it wouldn’t be easy. For weeks he had nightmares that Damien had killed Reid. Reid would hold him and reassure him that everything was all right.

Three months had passed since Damien had died and the nightmares were starting to fade. Reid knew that he had been having nightmares as well, but he did everything in his power to make sure that Luke never knew that. He never told his husband that most times he was already awake when Luke’s nightmares woke him. 

They were shopping for Katie’s baby shower when Luke held up an outfit that Reid shook his head at. “Nope, not putting Katie’s kid in that thing,” he said as he took the outfit out of Luke’s hand. “I wouldn’t put our kid in this.”

Luke just smiled as he turned to find something else. Reid looked at him. “What?”

“You said our kid.”

“Yeah, I did,” Reid confirmed. “We talked about it before we got married. I figure when we’re ready there will be mini Luke’s running around the house.”

“What about mini Reid’s?” Luke asked as he looked back at Reid. 

“Nope, I wouldn’t do that to a kid. Our kids will have your personality.”

“How about my personality with your brains?”

Reid smiled as he kissed Luke. “I like the way you think Mr. Snyder-Oliver. Come on, we’ve got to find something for Katie’s new munchkin.”

“And for Jacob,” Luke mentioned. “I don’t want the little guy to feel left out because he’s about to become a big brother.”

“I like that,” Reid said as they continued shopping. He looked at Luke as they left with their purchases. “So, about this baby thing…”

“What about it?” Luke asked as he looked at his husband.

“Are we ready for it?”

“What do you think?”

“I think you have been ready for it since we got married.”

“And you?”

Reid smiled at him. “I think I’ve been ready for it for a while now. I know when we were in that store I kept picturing what our kid would look like in whatever outfit we were looking at.”

“So it looks like we’re ready for this,” Luke said as they stopped.

“Yeah, I think we are,” Reid said as he kissed his husband. “Come on. Let’s get the new munchkin’s gift wrapped then we can start getting ready to give him or her a playmate.”

“Katie really didn’t tell you if it’s a boy or a girl,” Luke smiled as they went to the car so they could head home. 

“No, she said everyone would find out at the baby shower,” Reid grumbled. “I thought about sneaking a peak at her chart but I knew she would kill me if I did.”

“Yeah, she would,” Luke laughed.

They got home and wrapped their presents before they went upstairs to start trying for a baby. At the baby shower, everyone found out that Katie and Chris were going to have a baby girl. Jacob grinned when Reid gave him the present he and Luke had got the toddler.

Kim walked over to him. "That was very thoughtful of you and Luke. I was afraid Jacob would feel left out today."

“So were we,” Reid acknowledged. “Luke said he knew how it felt to suddenly have a baby in the house when you were the center of attention.”

Kim laughed. “Yes, I suppose he does. I know it was hard for him to see someone else get all of Lily and Holden’s attention. Then he started having older siblings show up. I think it helped that Abigail and Aaron gave him a lot of attention.”

“You know, I have yet to meet Aaron,” Reid said thoughtfully. “I know he’s been helping take care of his mother. Maybe we’ll have to go out to Seattle.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to do that,” Kim sighed. “Holden told Bob that Julie isn’t going to last very much longer. He said that Caleb told him that they want to bury her here and he wants to come home. So does Aaron.”

“Does Luke know?” Reid asked.

“I don’t think so,” she sighed. “I was going to call Andy after this and tell him. He and Julie were very close once.”

“So were she and Duke,” Reid observed. “I’ll call him when we get home and I’ve talked to Luke. What about Julie’s other two kids?”

“They’ve made their lives in Seattle,” Kim said. “Her daughter is married and her son is engaged. They will probably come for the funeral when it happens but they won’t stay. They didn’t spend a lot of time in Oakdale so they don’t have any connections here.”

Reid nodded and looked at Luke. He knew Luke wasn’t that close to Julie but he also knew his husband felt things very deeply. He wasn’t sure how finding out his brother’s mother was about to pass away would affect his husband. He watched as Holden pulled Luke off to the side and said something to him. He could tell by the look on Luke’s face he had just found out about Julie. After he walked away from his father, Reid watched Luke pull his phone out and go into Katie’s kitchen.

Reid excused himself from Kim and followed Luke. He walked in and realized Luke was talking to his brother. “Is there anything I can do? I can have Grandmother send her jet out there to bring everyone back to Oakdale. No, Aaron, she wouldn’t have a problem, I promise. I know, but she loves you and she cares about Caleb and Pete and Jenny. She’ll want to make sure you guys don’t have to worry about getting back here. She’ll even fly Pete and Jenny back to Seattle when they’re ready to go home. I can come out there. Are you sure? I can call Abigail and we’ll both come. All right. Call me any time, I don’t care what time it is. Aaron, you’re my brother and you know how much family means to us Snyders. Give my love to Uncle Caleb. Call me.”

He hung up and looked at Reid. “They don’t think Julie’s going to make it through the night.”

“Do you want to leave?” Reid asked as he took Luke’s hand.

Luke sighed. “No. We need to be here for Katie and Chris. I’ll join everyone in just a minute. I just need to speak to Grandmother. Can you send her in here?”

“Of course,” Reid said as he gave Luke a kiss on the cheek. Before he left the kitchen, he looked at his husband. “Remember, you don’t have to be strong for everyone. You’ve got me to lean on.”

Luke nodded as Reid left the kitchen and went to speak to Lucinda. She joined Luke in the kitchen and agreed to send her jet to Seattle and have it ready for Caleb and Aaron when the time came. When they got home, Reid called Duke and let him know what was happening with his former girlfriend. Duke asked that his brother call him and let him know when he needed to be there for the funeral.

It was 2 in the morning when Luke’s phone rang. He reached over and picked it up. When he saw his brother’s name on the caller id, he sat up. “Aaron. Oh, Aaron, I’m so sorry. Did you call Dad? I’ll do it if you want me to. It’s no problem. Yeah, it should be there in the morning. Call me when you leave and I’ll meet you at the airport. Listen, if you don’t want to stay at the farm, you can stay here with me and Reid. It’s no trouble, I promise. All right, we’ll see you when you get here.”

Luke hung up and sighed. He felt Reid’s hand on his back. “Julie?”

Luke nodded. “She passed away half an hour ago. I need to call Dad.”

Reid sat up as Luke called his father. “Dad, Aaron just called. Half an hour ago. Probably tomorrow. I told him to call when they leave and I’d meet them at the airport. I didn’t speak to Caleb. Yeah, okay. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

Luke hung up and got out of the bed. He pulled on some sleep pants and walked out of the room. Reid sighed and got up. He pulled on his sleep pants and followed his husband. He found him in one of the guest rooms changing the sheets. “Luke, what are you doing?”

“We already got one guest room ready for Duke. I need to get this one ready for Aaron.”

Reid came over and took Luke’s hands. “Luke, it’s the middle of the night.”

“I know but he’ll probably be here tomorrow.”

Reid took Luke’s face in his hands. “Luke, even if they get on the plane first thing in the morning it will still be four or five hours before they land here. We’ve got time to get the room ready. And he might decide to stay at the farm.”

“Not with Molly there,” Luke sighed. 

“Well, he may decide to go to your mother’s,” Reid said as Luke gave him a look. “Or not. Luke, come back to bed. I’ll help you get everything ready in the morning before I have to go back to work. Right now, we both need sleep.”

Luke looked at him for a long moment then nodded. They left the guest room and went back to their bedroom. Reid gathered Luke into his arms after they got back into bed and held him close. He knew that Luke wasn’t processing Julie’s loss for his own sake, but his brother’s. He knew how sensitive his husband was and he knew Luke would want to take care of Aaron. And he would take care of Luke.

The next morning, Reid helped Luke get the guest room ready for Aaron and headed to work. He called Duke from his office. Duke said he would be there as soon as he could. Reid heard a knock on his office door and sighed. “Come in.”

John walked in. “Lucinda told me about Julie.”

“I thought you didn’t like her,” Reid said as he gave his father a look.

“I didn’t at first,” John admitted as he sat down. “I didn’t think she was good enough for Andy. But if it hadn’t been for her I wouldn’t have found Duke. And if it weren’t for her, Holden wouldn’t have Aaron.”

Reid nodded. “Duke’s going to be here soon, probably today. He’s going to be staying with us.”

John smiled a little. “He never did like Lucinda’s house.”

“It is a bit overwhelming,” Reid agreed. “It is going to be interesting though. My brother and Luke’s brother as our first house guests.”

“Wait until there are kids running around,” John laughed. Then he saw the look on Reid’s face. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Not yet, but we’re working on it,” Reid admitted. 

“Good,” John said as he got up. “I think you’ll both be excellent fathers. I’ve got rounds. I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, sure,” Reid said as John started to leave. “John.”  
“Yes?”  
“When we do have kids, I want them to call you Grandpa,” Reid said as he looked John in the eye. “I’m not quite at the point where I can call you Dad, I’ll probably get there. But you’ll be my kid’s grandpa and I want them to call you that.”

John looked at him and nodded. “I’d like that. And don’t worry about the Dad thing. Margo and Duke don’t call me Dad. Well, not all the time anyway.”

Reid nodded as John left his office. 

Luke and Holden were waiting at the airport when Lucinda’s jet landed. Holden embraced his brother as Luke embraced his. Then Luke hugged Pete and Jenny. They led them to the cars so they didn’t have to watch the funeral director take Julie’s body off of the plane. “Mama wants everyone to come to the farm before you go to Luke’s, Aaron. Is that all right?”

“Yeah, sure, Dad,” Aaron said as he went with his brother.

Luke followed Holden to the farm. “Mom will be there. I know you and Molly don’t get along very well.”

“It’s not that I don’t like Molly,” Aaron sighed. “I just grew up knowing that Dad and Lily were together. It was different when Damien came into the picture because I knew they would get back together. I don’t know why I think Lily is better for Dad than Molly, but I do. Maybe it’s because I saw what Molly was willing to do to win his heart. You were still a kid.”

“I remember,” Luke said. “I know Molly’s made mistakes, but so have Mom and Dad. And right now, Mom is doing better than I’ve ever seen her. She’s enjoying being single and having time for Ethan and Natalie that she might not have if she was seeing someone. And Molly does make Dad happy. Happier than he’s been in a long time. I’m not expecting you to accept Molly. Neither is Dad. All we’re expecting you to do is mourn your mother and figure out what you want to do next.”

“And meet my brother-in-law,” Aaron said as he grinned at his brother. Then he sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it to the wedding.”

“Aaron, it’s okay. You were where you needed to be. There’s a DVD if you really want to see it, but you don’t have to.”

“Maybe later,” Aaron said as he looked out the window as Oakdale passed him.

When they got to the farm, Aaron willingly went into Emma’s embrace. “I’ve missed you, Grandma.”

“I’ve missed you too, sweetheart,” she said as she touched his cheek. “I should have come to Seattle.”

“Mama, I told you it was all right,” Caleb said as she took his hand.

“I know you did son,” she said as she looked at her step-grandchildren. “Come on. Let’s go into the house. Pete, Jenny, I’ve got rooms made up for you. Jenny, is your husband coming?”

“He’ll be here tomorrow with Pete’s fiancée,” Jenny said as they followed the older woman into the house.

“Good,” Emma said as she made them all sit down. “I’ve got food on the stove and coffee and tea ready. I know you probably didn’t have any breakfast this morning and you probably didn’t eat on Lucinda’s plane.”

Aaron smiled as he looked at his brother. “I missed Grandma.”

Luke smiled. “It doesn’t really feel like home until you’ve come here and let Grandma take care of you.”

They sat down to eat. They had been there for about half an hour when Lily arrived. Aaron got up and hugged his former step-mother. She asked him if he wanted to stay with her and he said he would be fine at Luke’s house.

After they ate and he promised Pete and Jenny he would meet them for dinner, Aaron left with Luke. They got to the house and Luke got his brother a beer. Aaron looked around the living room. “This is nice,” he said as his brother came out of the kitchen with a beer for him and an orange juice for Luke.

“Thanks,” Luke said as they sat down. “I’ll give you the full tour later.”

Aaron nodded. Then he noticed his brother’s beverage. “I know why you’re not having a beer, but orange juice?”

Luke smiled a little. “It’s for the folic acid more than anything else. We’re trying for a baby.”

“Luke, that’s great,” Aaron said as he sat up a little. “I know you’ll make a great dad.”

“Thanks,” Luke said as he looked up and the door opened. He stood up when he saw his husband and brother-in-law. “Duke, I didn’t know your flight had come in. I would have been with Reid at the airport to meet you.”

“It’s okay, Luke,” Duke smiled. “You were where you needed to be, with your brother.”

He looked over at Aaron. “I don’t know if you remember me or not. You were still a little kid the last time I saw you. I’m Duke Kramer.”

“Aaron Snyder,” Aaron said as he got up and shook his mother’s old boyfriend’s hand. “Mom talked about you and Andy before she died. She regretted coming between you two.”

“Aaron, that was in the past,” Duke said as Reid went to go get them beers. “Your mother was a good woman and she loved you and your brother and sister with everything she had in her.”

“Thanks,” Aaron said as Reid came back in. 

“John said Andy will be here tomorrow,” Reid said as they sat down. “Kim’s going to want us to come to dinner before he goes home.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Duke said.

“I promised Aaron a tour of the house,” Luke said as he got up. “What about you, Duke? We didn’t get a chance to show you around when you were here for the wedding.”

“Yeah, sure,” he said as the couple showed their brothers around the house. 

That night, Aaron went to join his brother and sister at Al’s for dinner while Duke went to eat with John and Lucinda. Reid and Luke sat on the couch after they had dinner and Reid put his arm around his husband. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m all right,” Luke said as he leaned on Reid’s shoulder. “I wasn’t that close to Julie. I’m just concentrating on Aaron. I told him we are trying to have a baby.”

“Good, I told Duke. He said he was looking forward to being an uncle again. He’s thinking about moving back to Oakdale but he asked me not to say anything to John. He said he would tell him if he did decide to come back. He doesn’t want John to pressure him.”

“That’s understandable.”

“Andy said Hope decided on Northwestern when I talked to him this morning.”

“Faith’s going to go to Oakdale U,” Luke said as he looked at his husband. “You’re going to push for Harvard when our kids start thinking about colleges, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know about that,” Reid said as he smiled a little. “Harvard was the right fit for me, but it might not be for our kids. We’ll see. We’ve still got at least 18 years before we have to worry about that.”

Luke nodded and they sat on the couch watching television waiting for their brothers to come home.

Three days later, they had Julie’s funeral. It was an intimate occasion. Julie had wanted it that way. Reid stood with Duke and Andy while Luke stood with Aaron. After the funeral, everyone gathered at the farm. Pete and his fiancée were flying back to Seattle that night. They had politely refused Lucinda’s offer of the jet again. Jenny and her husband would be leaving the next day. She and Caleb wanted to check on Julie’s grave one last time before Jenny went home.

Aaron soon found an apartment and a job at the Lakeview. He had taken classes in hotel management and Lily and Lisa were more than happy to give him a job taking care of the day to day operations of their hotel. 

Duke moved back to Oakdale and took over for his father as head of cardiology. John finally retired and he and Lucinda decided they would travel. He did elicit a promise out of Reid to let them know when he and Luke found out they were going to have a baby.


	15. Chapter 15

Katie and Chris welcomed a baby girl they named Nancy Kimberly Hughes. They asked Reid to be her godfather with Margo taking on the role of godmother. Reid and Luke came home from the christening and Luke smiled at his husband. “So, Dr. Snyder-Oliver, two years ago, when you came to this one horse town, did you ever expect to be named someone’s godfather?”

“Not in a million years,” Reid said as they went into the kitchen. He poured an orange juice for Luke and got himself a beer. “I told Katie we’d take Jacob if they needed a break.”

Luke nodded as he sat down at the counter. “So, what if your son or daughter winds up being about eight months younger than your goddaughter?”

Reid stopped his hand just before he took a sip of his beer. He looked at his husband as he lowered the bottle. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that the way we’ve been going at it, it wouldn’t surprise me if I got pregnant soon,” Luke said as he drank his orange juice.

Reid nodded as his phone rang. “Hello. Duke, what’s wrong?”

He looked at Luke at his brother spoke to him. “All right, I’ll be right there.”

“I’ve got to go to the hospital,” Reid said as he put down his beer.

“What’s happened?” Luke said, not liking the look on his husband’s face.

“There’s been an accident,” Reid said as he headed out of the kitchen. “It’s Molly. Duke called from the ER. I don’t think your dad’s been notified yet.”

“I’ll call Jack then I’ll go to the farm to get him,” Luke said as he followed him out of the house.

Reid nodded as they parted company. When Reid arrived at the hospital, Duke met him in the ER. “It’s bad. Molly was hit head on. She has sustained major internal damage. There’s not much I can do.”

“Let me take a look at her,” Reid sighed. “I don’t doubt your diagnosis but Luke and Holden are going to need to hear it from me.”

“I know,” Duke said as he led him into the exam room they had Molly in. “I called Aaron. He’s going to call Abigail.”

“Thanks,” Reid said as he went over to his step-mother-in-law. “Luke went to tell Holden. They should be here soon.”

“I’ll wait for them outside,” Duke said as he started to leave.

“Duke, you might want to call John and Lucinda.”

Duke nodded and Reid examined Molly. “Damn,” he said as he realized Duke was right. There wasn’t anything they could do to save Molly. 

He walked out of the room just as Carly ran in holding her one-year old son Brad. “Reid, Jack called me. Is Molly all right?”

Reid looked at Duke. Duke nodded and looked at Carly. “Why don’t I take Brad down to the daycare?” he suggested. “He’ll love playing with the other kids and you and Reid can talk.”

“Oh god,” Carly said as Duke took her son.

Reid waited until Duke had taken the baby out of ear shot. He took Carly’s arm. “Let’s sit down.”

“Reid, is my cousin all right?” Carly asked as Holden and Luke ran in.

“Reid?” Holden asked as he walked up to his son-in-law. 

Reid looked from Carly to Holden and Holden knew from the look on the younger man’s face. “No. She’s going to be all right, she has to.”

“I’m sorry, Holden,” Reid said softly. “She’s too badly injured. There’s nothing we can do. She may regain consciousness if you and Carly want to see her.”

Holden could only nod as Carly wrapped her arm around him and Reid led them to the exam room. Holden stood there for a second as Carly went over to the bed and took her cousin’s hand. Holden joined her a minute later. Reid stepped out of the room to give them time with Molly. He turned and looked at Luke.

“It’s not fair,” Luke said as Reid pulled him into his arms. “Dad was happy. Molly was happy. Is this what happens when you’re truly happy?”

“No,” Reid said as he held Luke close. “This happened because someone hit her car head on. It wasn’t because she and your dad were happy. It was random.”

Luke nodded against his shoulder. “Luke?” he heard Aaron ask from behind him.

He let go of his husband and turned to look at his brother. “Did you get ahold of Abigail?”

“Yeah, she’s catching the first flight out,” Aaron said as he went over to Luke. “Is Molly going to be all right?”

Luke just shook his head. Aaron pulled his brother close. He looked at Reid. “Where’s Dad?”

“He’s in with her and Carly,” Reid said as he stepped back. “I’m going to go check on them. Will you look after Luke?”

“Of course,” Aaron said as he walked his brother over to the chairs and Reid went into the exam room. “I called Lily. She said she would come if you needed her.”

“No, it’s okay,” Luke said. “She needs to make sure she prepares Natalie and Ethan for this.”

Aaron looked up as Duke came in. “Brad’s having fun playing with the other kids,” Duke said as he sat next to his brother-in-law. “Is there anything I can do for you or your dad?”

“I don’t know, Duke,” Luke said as Jack and Margo came in.

“We found the driver,” Margo said she stopped in front of her brother-in-law. “He was drunk.”

“It’s 3 in the afternoon,” Aaron said as he looked up at Margo and Jack.

“I know,” Jack sighed. “He didn’t even realize he had hit someone until I pointed out the damage on his car. Is Carly in with Molly and Holden?”

“Yeah,” Duke said as he got up. “I took the baby down to the daycare. I can get him if you want.”

“No, leave him for right now,” Jack said as they heard the monitors in Molly’s room start to go off. “On second thought.”

“I’ll go get him,” Duke said as he touched Jack’s shoulder before he left.

Carly and Holden came out of the room and Carly went straight into her husband’s arms. Luke got up and went over to his father. “Dad?”

“She’s gone, Luke,” Holden said as Luke pulled his father into an embrace and saw Reid come out of the room.

“Luke, take your father back to the farm,” Reid said as Duke came in with Brad and handed him to his mother. “I’ll be there as soon as I’ve finished the paperwork.”

Luke just nodded and led his father out of the hospital. Jack and Carly followed. Margo looked at her brothers. “I’ll call Kim and Katie and let them know what happened. They’ll probably go out to the farm.”

“I’ll drive Reid out there when he’s ready to leave,” Duke said as his younger brother started to protest. Duke held his hand up. “She was your step-mother-in-law. You had to be strong for Holden and Carly and you’ll have to be strong for Luke. Let me do this for you.”

Reid just nodded and went to finish the paperwork. Margo looked at Duke. “Keep an eye on him. He’s still learning how to deal with emotions and people.”

“Yeah, I think I am too,” he said as he gave his sister a kiss on the cheek. “Are you and Tom going to go out to the farm?”

“I don’t know. But we will stop by the house tomorrow.”

“It seems strange that this morning everyone was at Katie and Chris’s baby’s christening and now Molly…”

“I know,” Margo sighed. “I’ve got to get back. Take care of our little brother.”

Duke just nodded and watched as Margo left.

Luke and Holden got back to the farm and Emma was waiting for them in the yard. “Jack called,” she said as she took her son into her embrace. “I am so sorry, my sweetheart.”

“Thanks Mama,” Holden said as she led him into the house.

Caleb was waiting for them. He handed his brother a cup of tea. “Faith went over to Lily’s to help her tell Natalie and Ethan. I called Seth and Iva. They’ll be here as soon as they can.”

"I'm supposed to be supporting you, not you supporting me," Holden said as he looked at Caleb.

Caleb shrugged. “I’ve had years getting used to the idea of losing Julie. Ever since she was diagnosed, I knew that it was possible I would have to bury her one day. You had no time to prepare for this. And you have been there for me. Now it’s my turn to be there for you.”

Holden set down the tea and hugged his brother. The phone rang and Aaron went to answer it. He looked at his father. “It’s Abigail.”

Holden nodded as he went over and took the phone from his daughter. “Sweetheart, it’s Dad. I’m so sorry, Abigail. What? Okay, don’t worry, we’ll work something out.”

Luke looked at his father. “Can she get a flight?”

Holden shook his head. “Let me call Grandmother,” Luke said as he got his phone out. He looked over at Aaron. “Sometimes it’s nice having a grandmother who owns a private jet.”

Aaron just nodded as Luke called Lucinda. As he was talking to her and Holden was talking to Lucinda, Lily arrived with the kids. Natalie and Ethan ran into their grandmother’s arms. Faith went and put her arm around Luke. Lily walked over to Aaron. “Tell Holden I’ll pick up the kids tomorrow. If he needs me to get them earlier than that have you or Luke call me.”

“Lily, you could stay,” Aaron said as Holden got off the phone.

“No, it would be awkward if I stayed,” she said as she started to leave.

“Lily, stay,” Holden said as she turned and looked at her ex-husband. “The kids could use your support.”

Lily just nodded and went over and gave him a hug. “I am so sorry,” she said. “I know Molly and I didn’t always get along but she loved our kids. And she was Abigail’s mother. I wish this had never happened.”

“Yeah, me too,” he said as Luke got off the phone.

“Grandmother’s sending a jet to get Abigail,” Luke said as he looked at his father. “I can’t believe the airline wouldn’t work something out for her.”

“They told her the first flight they could put her on was tomorrow night,” Holden sighed. “She needs to be here as soon as she can.”

Luke nodded. “I’ll call her and give her the details.”

Ethan ran over to his father. “Dad, what happened to Molly?”

Ethan had just turned 8 and Natalie had just turned 12. Holden led him over to the table and sat down with Natalie and Faith. “From what Uncle Jack and Margo told Luke, someone hit Molly’s car head on. Reid and Duke did everything they could do but Molly was hurt too badly and she died.”

Natalie started to cry and Faith pulled her sister close. Luke heard a car pull up and looked out to see Duke and Reid arrive. He went out and hugged his husband. “The kids are here,” Luke said as they went inside.

Reid nodded and Ethan looked up when his brother-in-law came in. He got up and went over to Reid. “Did Molly say anything?”

Reid knelt down. “No, buddy, she didn’t. She didn’t wake up. But I’m sure if she had she would have told your dad how much she loved him and you and your sisters. I wish there was something Duke and I could have done to help her.”

Ethan just nodded. Faith took him and Natalie into the living room. When Carly and Jack arrived with their kids, Parker and Sage went to join their cousins. Faith and Parker were still seeing each other. Lily had wanted to object because they were cousins by adoption but Holden had pointed out that technically he was her uncle and that hadn’t stopped them for getting married and having kids.

It was after supper when Luke, Holden and Aaron left for the airport to pick up Abigail. As soon as she got off the plane and saw her father, she ran into his arms. She hadn’t been able to come home for Julie’s funeral. The last time she had seen her mother was at Luke and Reid’s wedding. Holden just held his daughter as she cried.

After they got Abigail back to the farm, Holden told Aaron and Luke to go home. Luke said he could stay at the farm if Holden needed him. Holden hugged his son and told him he appreciated it but he had Caleb and Emma there to help him. 

The next few days found the Snyder family gathering for another funeral. Caleb and Seth both supported their brother as he buried his wife. Aaron and Luke made sure that Abigail knew she could lean on them. Reid made sure that his husband didn’t fall into his old habits of ignoring everything else in his life to take care of his family.

After the funeral, Abigail confided in her father that she wasn’t sure she should go back to California. She had fallen in love with a married man and she thought she was pregnant. Holden told her that she could stay in Oakdale as long as she wanted. They went to see Dr. Addison, the hospital’s OB/GYN and she told Abigail that she wasn’t pregnant. Abigail was relieved. Katie offered her a job at WOAK and after careful consideration, Abigail took the job.

Holden was pleased that for once in his life all of his children were in Oakdale at the same time. He knew Aaron and Abigail still had a lot to get through with the deaths of their mothers but he also knew that they were strong young people and they would pull through this. He wasn’t sure about himself though. He had really loved Molly. He knew it would take him time to recover from her loss and until then he wasn’t even thinking about looking at another woman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I toyed with the idea of keeping Molly around. I wasn't sure if I wanted to get Holden and Lily back together. I'm still not 100% sure even though I'm leaning in that direction. All I knew was if I was going to have Holden be single again, it wasn't going to be because of another divorce. I like Molly. It's just the way my muse called this particular storyline.


	16. Chapter 16

Luke and Reid were still trying to have a baby. Luke was beginning to get concerned that perhaps his kidney transplant was preventing him from conceiving. He went to see Dr. Addison who told him that everything was all right and that he should have no problem conceiving. She also pointed out that he had been under a lot of stress recently and perhaps his body was reacting to that.

That night, Reid came home to see candles throughout the living room. He heard soft music playing in the background. He took off his jacket and went into the kitchen. Luke was standing in front of the stove and there was a bottle of wine sitting on the counter. “Luke?”

“You’re home,” Luke said as he turned around and smiled. He went over and poured Reid a glass of wine.

“What’s going on?” Reid said as Luke took a sip of orange juice.

“I thought we could use a relaxing evening, just us, no distractions,” Luke smiled.

“Not that I object, but what brought all of this on?” Reid asked as Luke put their dinner on plates and walked over to the table.

“I went to see Dr. Addison today,” Luke admitted.

“And?” Reid asked as he raised an eyebrow.

“And I’m not pregnant,” Luke sighed. “And she said that because of the stress I’ve been under lately that might be a reason I haven’t gotten pregnant. So she said I needed to try to relax.”

“Sound advice,” Reid said as they started to eat. “What else are we doing to relax this evening?”

“I’ve got your favorite film in the DVD player,” Luke said as Reid took his hand. “I thought we would watch it and then we could take a relaxing bath in that wonderful Jacuzzi tub we had put in.”

“Oh yeah, I think that will make for a very relaxing evening,” Reid grinned.

Later they were relaxing in the bath, Luke laying in Reid’s arms. Reid had a glass of wine and Luke had a glass of sparkling cider. “We should do this more often,” Reid said as he kissed Luke’s hair.

“Yeah we should,” Luke agreed. “I love it when it’s quiet like this.”

Reid just laughed. “I wouldn’t get used to it. Once we have kids, it won’t be quiet like this again for a long time.”

“Yes it will,” Luke argued. “When they’re sleeping.”

They both laughed. Luke turned in Reid’s arms and kissed his husband. Reid moved the glasses out of the way as he pulled Luke into his lap. Before they knew it, they were making love. Neither of them thought about making babies or anything other than the way they made each other feel. Once the water got cold they moved to the bed and continued making love. All that mattered was the two of them and the way they felt in that moment.

In Chicago, a man who had been declared dead was in a library doing research on the internet. Every entry he read only fueled his rage. He knew who had to pay, he just needed to plan how to exact his revenge. Luke Snyder would regret the day he had crossed him.

Luke and Reid had been married six months. They went to the Lakeview to celebrate their six month anniversary. Luke teased Reid that he was becoming sentimental. Reid said that Luke had corrupted him. The next morning, they got up and started their day like normal. No one could have anticipated what would happen that afternoon.

Luke didn’t tell Reid that he had an appointment with Dr. Addison that morning. He waited until Reid had left before he went to the hospital. He had a feeling that he was pregnant, but he didn’t want to get Reid’s hopes up and he didn’t want to chance his husband finding a home pregnancy test in the house so he had set up the appointment.   
After he was finished with Dr. Addison, Luke went to the Foundation’s office to work on a proposal for a new teen center. Duke had come to him with the idea not long after he had come back to Oakdale. It was an idea that Luke had wished he had himself. He enjoyed working with his brother-in-law on this project. He turned the radio in his office and started working on the grant proposal. 

Reid and Duke had finished lunch in the cafeteria and went up to Reid’s office to go over the budget for the cardiology department. There were some additions that Duke wanted to make and Reid was behind them. They just had to make sure the budget didn’t need to be adjusted to badly. “We can always apply for a grant,” Duke said as Reid opened the door to his office.

The brothers stopped in their tracks when they saw a man in an Army uniform sitting behind Reid’s desk. “Come in gentlemen,” he said as he looked at the doctors.

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Reid said as he started to back out of his office.

“Oh I do,” he said as he pulled out a gun and pointed it at them. “Come in gentlemen, I insist.”

Duke saw Allison about to walk past and held his hand up. He indicated for her to call security before he followed his brother into the office and shut the door. Allison went over to the door and pressed her ear to it. As soon as she heard the voice of the person who was in the office with Reid and Duke she grabbed her phone and called first security then Margo.

“So my first question is going to be, who are you and what the hell are you doing in my office?” Reid said as he stared at the man in his chair.

“I am a Colonel in the United States Army and you will treat me with respect, boy,” he said as he got up.

“Oh really?” Reid glared. “You come into my hospital, my office, pointing a gun at me and my brother and you expect me to treat you with respect? I don’t think so.”

“I don’t want to be here with you but since I can’t get to your husband, I have to settle for you,” he said as Reid noticed the name tag.

He rolled his eyes. “You cannot be related to Noah Mayer.”

Duke looked at his brother when he said that. He and Reid had talked about Noah and what he had done to both Reid and Luke. Colonel Winston Mayer raised his gun. “You are not worthy enough to say my son’s name.”

“I thought you said Noah’s father was dead,” Duke said.

“That’s what Luke told me,” Reid said, never taking his eyes off of Colonel Mayer. “He told me that Colonel Mayer was too much of a coward to face his punishment like a man so he jumped into the East River and drowned.”

“I let them think I had drowned,” Colonel Mayer said as he glared at Reid. “It was always my intention to come back here and collect my son. To get him away from the influence of Luke Snyder. But then he framed my son and got him thrown into prison with his mob father. He set my son up to get him killed.”

Reid just laughed. “You’re delusional if you think that’s what happened. Your son tried to kill me and Luke. He was sent to prison on a legitimate charge of attempted murder. He was killed by a psychopath who is in no way, shape or form related to my husband. Now, I’m pretty sure the police are on their way. Make this easy on yourself and turn yourself in. End this.”

“This won’t end until Luke Snyder has paid for what he did to my son!” Colonel Mayer shouted as he shot above Reid’s head. “Keep mouthing off and the next shot will be in your heart.”

Duke put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Reid, don’t. I know what you want to do. You want to tell this joker off. So do I. But it won’t do either one of us any good right now. Margo and Jack are on their way. They will get us out of this.”

“Before or after he does something to Luke?” Reid asked as he looked at his older brother. “I can’t let anything happen to him.”

“It won’t,” Duke promised. “Luke’s safe at his office. You know Worldwide has the best security in the world.”

“Which is exactly why I’m here, and not there,” Colonel Mayer said as he picked up the telephone on Reid’s desk. “You’re going to call that little punk and convince him to come here. I don’t care what you say, but if you mention my name, I will kill your brother.”

“I am not calling Luke,” Reid said as he went over and sat on his couch. “And you are not going to shoot my brother. You have no reason to shoot Duke. You don’t even know him. You don’t even know me. You are going to jail, Colonel Mayer, just like your loser son.”

Duke knew what was going to happen before Reid did. Colonel Mayer pulled the trigger and Duke tackled him to the ground. The door to the office burst open and Jack helped Duke get Colonel Mayer under control. He tried to escape and grabbed a security guards gun when he got out of Reid’s office. Jack had no choice but to shoot him. Margo rushed into the office and looked at Duke. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Duke said as he got up. 

“Duke,” Reid said softly. 

They turned around and looked at their younger brother as he sat on the couch holding his stomach. “I’m not doing so great.”


	17. Chapter 17

“Get a nurse in here!” Duke shouted as he ran over to his brother. He looked at his hands and saw they were covered in blood. “Damn it, I thought he missed you.”

“Yeah, not so much,” Reid said as he tried to move.

“Stay still,” Duke instructed. Allison came in. Duke looked over at her. “We need a trauma team up here STAT.”

Allison grabbed the phone on Reid’s desk and called for the trauma team. Duke looked at Reid. “I’m going to lay you down on the couch. You keep your hands on your stomach as long as you can. When Allison gets off the phone, she’ll take over, okay Little Brother.”

“Luke,” Reid gasped out.

“He’s all right,” Duke said as he took Reid’s pulse. “He’s safe at his office. You don’t have to worry about him.”

“Need to see him,” Reid said as Allison came over.

“Trauma team is on it’s way up from the ER. Should we move him straight to surgery?”

“We need to stabilize him first,” Duke said as he looked over his shoulder. “Margo, you’ll have to call Dad before he hears about it on the news. And someone should get Luke.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Margo said as Reid slipped into unconsciousness. “Is he going to be all right?”

“I don’t know,” Duke said honestly. “Go Margo.”

Margo stepped out of the office as the trauma team rushed out of the elevator. She looked at Jack. “Get that piece of scum out of my sight.”

She took her phone out of her pocket and dialed. “Tom. You need to go to Worldwide and get Luke. Reid’s been shot. I’ll explain when you get here. I have to call my Dad. Yeah, take Casey with you.”

She watched as Duke and Allison led the trauma team out of Reid’s office and back into the elevator. She was thankful that the heart monitor indicated her brother was still with them. 

Luke had stepped out of his office to get some juice when a news report came on reporting a shooting at the hospital. He came back in just as they went to the sports report. He had just sat down when Tom and Casey came in. “Hey guys,” he said as he smiled at them. Then he saw the look on their faces. “What’s happened?”

“Have you heard the news?” Tom asked his brother-in-law.

“No, I stepped out just as it was starting. What’s going on?”

Casey walked over to his friend and sat in front of him. “Mom called Dad and told him to get you and come to the hospital. It’s Reid.”

“What’s happened to Reid?” Luke asked as he dropped his juice.

“He’s been shot,” Tom said. “I don’t know all of the details. “Margo said she would tell us when we got to the hospital.”

Luke just sat there in shock. Casey put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Luke, we need to go.”

Luke just nodded and let Casey lead him to the door. Tom put his hand on the younger man’s back as they walked out of the office. Casey sat in the back with Luke as Tom drove them to the hospital. When they go there, Margo was waiting for them. “Duke and Allison have taken him to surgery.”

“What happened?” Casey asked as they led Luke to the surgery waiting room.

“Colonel Mayer shot Reid,” Margo said as Luke felt his legs give out.

“He’s dead,” he said as Casey and Tom moved to catch him.

“He is now,” Margo confirmed. “He apparently faked his death and for some reason showed up in Reid’s office today. He tried to escape and Jack had to shoot him. I won’t know anything else until I can talk to Duke.”

They got to the waiting room and Casey led Luke to a chair then got him some water. Tom looked at his wife. “Did you call John?”

“Yes,” Margo sighed. “He and Lucinda just got back from New York last night. He’s on his way. Jack is calling Holden and Lily. I saw Chris and he’s going to go get Katie. Tom, Duke doesn’t know if he’s going to be all right.”

Tom pulled his wife close and held her. Ever since she had found out Reid was her brother she had gotten close to the younger man. She had discovered what her sister had seen in him when he first came to town. 

Lily arrived just before Holden and they rushed to their son’s side. John and Lucinda weren’t far behind them. It seemed like an eternity had passed before Allison came out of the operating room. She went over to Luke and knelt in front of him. “He made it through surgery. Duke is staying with him in recovery. So far he’s doing great.”

“I need to see him,” Luke said, his eyes pleading with his friend.

“And you will,” Allison promised. “Duke’s going to monitor him while he’s in recovery then he’s going to come get you. He knows you need to see Reid.”

Luke just nodded. He stared at the doors to the operating room. Lily took her son’s hand. “Luke, have you eaten anything today?”

“I had breakfast, with Reid,” he said as he tried not to cry. “I can’t lose him, Mom, not now.”

“You won’t,” Holden said as he took his son’s in his hands and looked him straight in the eye. “Reid is strong. That bastard is not going to take him away from you. I promise.”

Luke just nodded and let Holden pull him into his arms. Lily kept her hand on his back as Holden held him. The parents looked at each other and reached across to take each other’s hand. John looked at his daughter. “Who did this?”

Margo sighed and sat her father and step-mother down. “All I know is Allison called to tell me Colonel Winston Mayer was holding Reid and Duke hostage in Reid’s office. By the time Jack and I got here, we heard a gunshot and opened the door to see Duke pinning Mayer to the floor. He tried to escape when Jack went to help Duke and got a security guard’s gun and Jack had no choice but to shoot him.”

“Good,” Lucinda said as John gave her a look. “Oh don’t look at me like that, John. That man paralyzed my grandson. He nearly killed Dusty. And now he’s tried to kill Reid. Let him rot.”

Katie and Chris came running in and Luke broke from his parents to fall into Katie’s arms. “He’s going to be okay,” Katie said as she held the younger man. “He has to be. You two are watching Jacob and Nancy tomorrow night.”

Luke laughed a little as she pulled back and looked him in the eye. “He’s going to be all right. He’s too stubborn to die.”

Luke nodded and let her lead him back over to the chairs. Luke felt like they had been sitting there forever before Duke came out. He pulled a chair up and sat in front of his brother-in-law. “Reid’s holding his own. The next twenty four hours are going to be critical. I know you want to see him, and I’m going to let you. But I can’t let everyone in at once. You and Dad go in first.”

Luke nodded as John got up and walked over to his son-in-law. He held his hand out and Luke took it. He got up and they followed Duke into the ICU. Duke stood at the door to Reid’s room and let his father and brother-in-law go in. Luke pulled a stool up beside Reid’s bed. He sat down and took his husband’s hand. “It seems like my past is always causing you pain. First Noah, then Damien, now Colonel Mayer. I wouldn’t blame you if you decided you were done. But I need you Reid. I need you now more than ever. I can’t do this on my own. I need you to get better.”

John went over to Luke and put his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “He’ll be all right,” John said as he tried not to let his voice break. He had just found out that Reid was his son. He had lost so many years, he couldn’t lose Reid now.

Duke came in after a few minutes. “Luke, it’s time to go.”

“I can’t leave him,” Luke said as he looked up. “Please, don’t make me leave him.”

“Luke, it’s not good for you to stay here,” Duke said as he knelt beside him. “And Reid wouldn’t want you to stay here. I know you don’t want to leave. I know how hard it is for you to leave.”

“You don’t understand,” Luke said as he looked at his brother-in-law. “I didn’t tell him about my appointment today. I should have told him. I should have come up to his office and told him. I kept it a secret because I didn’t want to disappoint him. Now I may never get to tell him.”

Duke looked up at John then back at Luke. “Tell him now. John and I will step out and give you all the privacy you need. Tell him your news. We won’t say anything unless you want us to.”

Luke just nodded and waited until they had left the room. He took Reid’s hand again and pressed it against his cheek. “I’ve not been feeling well the past few days. I was pretty sure what the cause was but I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to disappoint you. I went to see Dr. Addison today. You’re going to be a daddy. You have to get better because I can’t do this on my own. Your son or daughter needs you so badly and so do I. Don’t let my past mistakes take you away from our child.”

He stood up and kissed Reid’s forehead. “I’ll be back. Duke’s going to make me leave right now but I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’ve got to give Margo and Katie a chance to come hover over you.”

He kissed Reid one more time then he walked out of the room. He looked at John and Duke. “You two guessed what I told him?”

“Yes, but like Duke said, we won’t say anything unless you want us to,” John promised.

“Wait until Reid wakes up,” Luke said as they started to walk back to the waiting room.

“All right, but I’m going to keep an eye on you,” Duke promised. 

They went back into the waiting room then Duke led Margo and Katie back to Reid’s room. Luke looked at his parents. “I want to stay but Duke says I need to go home. I can’t go back to my house, not without Reid. I want to go to the farm, but I don’t want to upset Mom either.”

“Honey, your father and I talked about it while you were in with Reid,” Lily said as she took her son’s hand. “You’re going to the farm. I called Faith and she’s packing a bag for me and the kids then she’s going to go over your house and pick up some things for you. We’re all going to stay with you at the farm.”

Luke just nodded and looked at the door as Margo and Katie came back in. “Duke said Reid will sleep through the night,” Katie said as she looked at Luke. “He’s going to stay here and keep an eye on him. So are Allison and Chris. He will call you if anything happens.”

Luke nodded and let his parents lead him out of the hospital. He didn’t even realize that everyone had followed them to the farm until he sat down at the table and looked up. “You didn’t have to come.”

“Of course we did,” Margo said as she sat beside him and took his hand. “We won’t stay all night. Emma doesn’t have enough room for us, but we’ll be here for a while.”

“Nonsense,” Emma said as she looked at Margo. “I raised six children in this house. We can figure something out so you all can stay. There’s always the living room and the parlor.”

“Thanks Emma,” Tom said as John went over to the stove and poured some hot water into a cup of tea and took it to his son-in-law.

“You need to drink this, Luke,” he said as he looked him in the eye. 

Luke just nodded as he took the tea. Margo looked at Luke. “I talked to Duke before Katie and I came back to the waiting room. He said when he and Reid got to Reid’s office after they had lunch, Colonel Mayer was waiting for them. They didn’t know who he was at first. Duke managed to signal Allison before they had to go into the office. He wanted Reid to call you and have you come to the hospital. He threatened to shoot Duke if Reid didn’t do what he told him. Duke realized that Mayer was about to shoot and tried to stop him. He may have managed to keep him from shooting Reid in the chest instead of the stomach.”

“So I was right,” Luke sighed. “This is all my fault.”

“No, Luke,” she said as she took his hand. “It’s not your fault. We all know Mayer was insane.”

Luke just nodded and got up. “I’m going to bed.”

He went over to the door and opened it and was up the stairs before they could stop him. Lily got up to follow him but Holden stopped her. “Give him some room. He needs some time. He knows this isn’t his fault but right now he’s scared of what’s going to happen to Reid. He might not get much sleep tonight.”

“We’ll keep an eye on him,” Emma promised.

Luke tossed and turned the entire night. He kept having nightmares about Reid being shot. He could see his husband dying over and over again. He could see his baby dying. Finally, around 3 am, he gave up and got out of bed. He went downstairs and got some milk. He sat down at the table when he heard someone else come in the kitchen. He ignored them while he drank his milk and looked down at his wedding ring.

“You should be sleeping,” John said as he sat down with his own glass of milk.

“I could say the same thing to you,” Luke said not looking up.

“Yes, but I’m not the one who’s pregnant,” John said as Luke’s head shot up. He held his hand up. “Don’t worry, we’re alone. How many nightmares have you had?”  
“I don’t know,” Luke sighed. “I’ve lost count.”  
“I could give you something to help you sleep,” John offered. “A very mild sedative would help you sleep and it wouldn’t hurt the baby.”

“Would it keep the nightmares away?” Luke said as he put his head in his hands. “I really can’t take the nightmares any more tonight.”

“It will help,” John said as he got up. “My bag is in the parlor. I’ll try to get it without waking up your grandmother. But if she does wake up, I’ll just tell her you’re having trouble sleeping. She might come in and hover but she’ll understand.”

Luke just nodded as John went into the parlor. He placed his hand on his stomach but took it away quickly when he heard someone coming. “Darling, John told me you can’t sleep,” Lucinda said as she came in and sat down beside him. “I can warm that milk up for you if you’d like. It will help more than his silly sedative.”

“Do you know how to work the stove?” John teased as he came back into the kitchen.

“I will have you know that I used to make Lily hot coca when she was small,” Lucinda said as she gave him a look. “I made it myself. I am capable of using a stove.”

Luke smiled a little. “You made me hot coca once.”

She thought about it. “Yes, I did. And you enjoyed it. Now, would you like for me to warm the milk up for you?”

“That would be nice, Grandmother. Thank you.”

John handed him the sedative. “The warm milk will help you sleep, the pill will help keep the nightmares away.”

“I want to see Reid first thing in the morning,” Luke said as he looked up at his step-grandfather.

“I’ll call Duke in the morning and see how Reid is doing,” John promised.

Lucinda finished warming the milk up and gave it to Luke. He drank it and took the sedative. He got up and gave Lucinda a kiss on the cheek before he went back upstairs. Lucinda looked at her husband. “Is he going to be all right?”

“He will be better when he knows for sure that Reid is going to be all right,” John said as he went over and put the dishes in the sink. “The warm milk is just what he needed to help him get to sleep.”

“How are you doing, John?” she asked as she got up and took her husband’s hand. “Two of your sons were in mortal danger. One of them was shot and is fighting for his life.”  
“I’m angry,” John admitted. “I’m angry that Winston Mayer was able to do this not only to my sons but to my son-in-law as well. Luke blames himself and I think the only one who will be able to convince him that it’s not his fault is Reid. We don’t know when Reid will wake up. Duke told us the first 24 hours are critical and he’s right. We could still lose Reid. I just found him, Lucinda. I just found out that this brilliant, remarkable young man is my son and…”

“And you will be able to tell everyone how proud you are of him again soon,” Lucinda said as she pulled him close. “We’ve all been concentrating on Luke, no one’s thought about you. You’re a man who has been given a second chance at being a father to this brilliant, remarkable young man and you’re nowhere near being done. He will recover because he has your stubbroness. He will not let the likes of Winston Mayer keep him away from the people he loves.”

John nodded and they went back into the parlor.


	18. Chapter 18

Between the sedative and the warm milk, Luke was asleep not long after he got back into his room. It was close to nine o’clock before he woke up again. He lay still for a minute, listening to the chaos of the house and hoping that he wouldn’t be hit by a bout of morning sickness. Dr. Addison had given him a prescription but it was with his things in his office. When he was sure he could get up without getting sick, he made his way downstairs.

Emma smiled when she saw him come through the doorway. “Good morning, sweetheart.”

“Good morning, Grandma,” he said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Where is everyone?”

“Margo and Jack are checking in with the station. Holden and Caleb took the kids out to feed the animals. John, Lucinda and Lily are in the parlor. Abigail and Aaron went to get you a change of clothes. Tom is talking to his father and Casey is still asleep.”

Luke laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

“Sit down,” Emma said as she led him to a chair. “I have some breakfast ready for you.”

“Grandma, that’s okay,” he tried to protest as John came in and gave him a pill.

Luke looked at John while Emma’s back was turned. “Anti-nausea,” John said softly. “I got a sample pack from Dr. Addison before we left the hospital last night.”

“Thanks,” Luke said as he took the pill before his grandmother could see it.

Emma brought a plate over to him with a cup of tea. “John said you needed to drink tea this morning. He said with everything you went through last night the caffeine from the coffee wouldn’t be good for you. So I made you some Orange Pekoe. And I know you’re not going to be very hungry but eat as much of this as you can. You have a long day ahead of you.”

“Thanks Grandma,” he said as they heard Brad cry.

“I’ll go check on him,” Emma said as she gave Luke another kiss on the cheek. “Carly’s helping Holden and Caleb with the kids.”

Luke waited until she left then he pushed the plate of food away. “She did this with Dad and Uncle Caleb when Molly and Aunt Julie died.”

“Your grandmother loves to take care of people, you know that,” John said as he sat down beside him. “And she’s right. You do need to eat. Neither Duke nor I are going to let you see Reid if you haven’t eaten.”

“I need to see him,” Luke pleaded.

“I know you do. Eat as much of that as you can and I’ll take you to the hospital. Besides, you can’t go anywhere until Abigail and Aaron get back with your clothes.”

Luke ate as much as he could as Emma came back in with Brad. She went to get the baby a bottle and Luke looked up. “I can hold him while you get his breakfast ready.”

“Are you sure?” she asked her grandson.

“I’m positive,” he said as he held his hands out.

Emma gave him the baby then she went to get Brad’s breakfast ready. John went to pour himself a cup of coffee. Emma looked at him. “He’s pregnant, isn’t he?” she asked in a soft voice.

“Emma, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” John denied.

“You listen to me, John Dixon,” she said as she gave him a look. “I’ve given birth to five children. I’ve seen my fair share of pregnant people in my time. You specifically told me not to give him anything with caffeine in it. He was wary about eating breakfast, his favorite breakfast I might add. You gave him something when you came in here, don’t deny it.”

John sighed. “All right, he is. But you can’t tell anyone. He doesn’t want anyone to know until Reid wakes up.”

“He hasn’t been able to tell Reid yet, has he?”

John just shook his head as Abigail and Aaron came in. “Here you go, kid,” Aaron said as he set the bag down in front of Luke. 

“We also got some things for Reid,” Abigail said as she sat beside her brother. “We thought it would help brighten up his room until he can come home.”

“Thanks guys,” Luke said as he got up. “Can one of you take Brad while I go get changed.”

“Give him here,” Aaron said as he took the baby. “Abi will just go all gaga. Brad and I need to have some guy bonding time.”

Abigail just rolled her eyes at her younger brother as Luke took the bag and went upstairs. When he came back down, Holden and Lily were in the kitchen. “We’re going with you,” Lily said as she took her son’s hand.

He just nodded and let them lead him out of the house. When they got to the hospital, Duke was waiting for them. “He’s made it through the night,” Duke told his brother-in-law. “His vitals look good. He’ll probably wake up later this afternoon. I’m allowing him to have more visitors at a time now. And you can stay with him as long as you make sure you take care of yourself.”

“Thanks Duke,” Luke said as he went to Reid’s room. He stood at the door for a minute and looked at his husband. He closed his eyes and just listened to the monitors for a minute. He went over to the bed and took Reid’s hand as he sat down.

“Duke says you’re doing very well,” Luke said as he put his elbows on the bed and put Reid’s hand against his cheek. “You will be out of here before you know it. Abigail packed some of your stuff for you. I’ll put it where you can see it in a little while. John and Duke heard me talking to you last night. They know what I told you, but they’re the only ones. I won’t tell anyone else until after you wake up. God, Reid, I am so sorry. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t met Noah. I wouldn’t blame you if you never forgave me.”  
He felt Reid squeeze his hand. “Reid? Are you waking up? Duke said you wouldn’t wake up till this afternoon. If you’re still tired, that’s okay. I know you’re still in there.”

He got up and gave Reid a kiss on the forehead. “Hopefully when you wake up they’ll be able to take that tube out. I know you don’t like having it in. I wouldn’t either.”

He sat back down and looked at the bag he had brought in with him. He let go of Reid’s hand long enough to pick it up and see what Abigail and Aaron had packed. He smiled when he saw their wedding picture. He put it on the tray table where Reid could see it. Then he took out Reid’s model of the brain and their chess set.

“Looks like Abigail and Aaron have you figured out pretty well,” Luke said as the door opened and Holden and Lily came in.

“Is that what Abigail and Aaron picked up?” Lily said as she came over and put her hand on Luke’s shoulder.

Luke just nodded. Holden smiled. “They were right. He’ll like waking up and seeing them. Of course I think he’ll like waking up and seeing you more.”

Luke looked up at his father. “Thanks for being here. I know how hard this must be for you.”

Holden went over and knelt beside his son. “This is different. Molly didn’t have a chance. Reid does. He is going to make it. If for no other reason than if Molly sees him in Heaven right now, she’ll kick him out.”

Luke laughed. He looked back over at Reid. “Duke said he wouldn’t wake up until later this afternoon, but part of me wants him to wake up now.”

“Let him rest, Sweetie,” Lily said as she ran her fingers through her son’s hair. “He needs to heal and rest is the best thing for him.”

“When Noah hit us and broke his leg, I was scared,” Luke sighed. “Now I’m terrified.”

Lily and Holden looked at each other. They didn’t know how to help their son. The only thing they knew to do was be there for him. 

Luke had been there a couple of hours when Duke came in. “Luke, I want you to go get some lunch. You can just go down to the cafeteria. Margo’s going to stay here with Reid. And Tom said that Andy’s on his way.”

“Andy knows he’s going to be all right, doesn’t he?” Luke asked as he looked up at his brother-in-law.

“Yes, he does,” Duke confirmed. “So does MJ. But Reid is our brother and we worry about him. Just like we worry about you. You know that’s what family does.”

Luke just nodded. He started to get up but he felt dizzy. Holden reached out and grabbed him before he fell. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” Luke said. “I just got up to fast. That stool isn’t the most comfortable thing to sit on. And Duke’s right. I need to eat some lunch. I did eat breakfast but I wasn’t very hungry this morning.”

Holden and Lily exchanged a look but they didn’t question their son. They just watched as Margo came in and Duke led him out of the room. Half an hour later, Luke came back in and saw that Duke had a better chair brought in. Margo smiled when she saw him come in. “He’s been getting restless,” she said as she got up. “Duke says that’s a good sign. He says he should be waking up soon.”

Luke couldn’t think of anything to do other than hug his sister-in-law. Margo led him over to the bed. “Duke and Allison took the tube out about ten minutes ago. Bob and Kim came by and said Andy will be here in about an hour. They said they would come and see both of you after he’s woken up.”

Luke nodded as he sat down in the chair. He noticed that Reid’s eyes were fluttering and his hand was moving. “I think he’s looking for you,” Margo said as she led the younger man’s hand to his husband’s.

“Reid,” he said softly as he felt his husband squeeze his hand. 

Margo looked over at Holden and Lily and they agreed they needed to leave the couple alone. They went out and shut the door as Luke felt a tear fall onto his cheek. “Reid? Are you waking up?”

Reid’s head turned toward the sound of Luke’s voice and his eyes cracked open. Luke grinned when he saw his blue eyes. “Hi,” he said softly.

“Luke?” Reid said, his voice rough from the tube that had been helping him breathe.

“I’m here sweetheart,” Luke said as he kissed Reid’s hand.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Luke said as he got up and got a glass of water. “It was you we were worried about. Here, take a sip.”

Luke brought the straw to Reid’s mouth and he took a small sip. He closed his eyes for a minute then asked for another sip. “What happened?”

“You were shot in your office,” Luke said as he sat back down.

Reid closed his eyes and nodded. “Mayer’s father.”

“He’s never going to hurt you again,” Luke promised. “He tried to escape and he was killed.”

Reid’s eyes flew open again. “Duke.”

“He’s fine,” Luke said as he put a hand on his husband’s chest. “He’s been keeping an eye on you all night. So have Allison and Chris. I would have stayed but they kicked me out.”

“Good,” Reid said as he squeezed Luke’s hand. “Need your rest.”

Luke laughed a little. “Yeah, I guess I do. Now more than ever.”

“What do you mean?” Reid asked as he gave his husband a look.

Luke looked over his shoulder and saw the door was shut. He turned back to his husband and gave him a kiss. “I told you last night but you probably didn’t hear me. You’re going to be a daddy.”

Reid looked at him for a minute. “You’re pregnant?”

Luke just nodded. Reid started to cry. “Reid? Are you okay?” he asked as he got worried.

“I almost died and you’re going to have our baby,” Reid said as he squeezed Luke’s hand. “I could have left you alone with a baby to raise.”

“But you didn’t,” Luke said as he stroked Reid’s hair. “You didn’t leave me. You’re going to be all right and we’re going to raise this baby together.”

Luke wiped Reid’s tears away. “You rest. Your sister and your brothers are going to want to make sure you’re all right.”

“Brothers? Duke’s the only one that’s here.”

“Andy’s on his way. And I’m sure MJ will be not far behind him. Like Margo said, that’s what family does for each other.”

Reid nodded as his eyes started to droop. “Go to sleep,” Luke said as he stroked his husband’s hair. “You need to rest so you can get better.”

Reid just nodded as he went to sleep holding Luke’s hand. Luke looked up when the door opened and Duke came in. “He woke up,” Luke said softly. “He didn’t seem like he was in pain.”

“We’ve got him on a steady drip of morphine right now,” Duke said as he came over to the bed. “Hey, Little Brother, I know you just went to sleep, but I need to make sure you’re not going to burst out of your stitches.”

“Go away,” Reid said with his eyes closed. 

Duke just laughed. “In a few minutes. Come on, Reid. Just for a few minutes.”

Reid opened his eyes and did his best to glare at his brother. “I’m your boss, remember.”

“Yeah, and right now I’m your doctor,” Duke said as he started to examine Reid. “Do you want Luke to leave?”

“No.”

Duke nodded as he started to examine his brother. After a few minutes, he looked at them. “I’m going to keep you in the ICU until tomorrow. You have developed a slight fever and I want to make sure you don’t get an infection. I’m going to order antibiotics and monitor you through the night. Other than that, everything seems to be healing nicely.”  
“How long do I have to be in the hospital?” Reid asked as Luke squeezed his hand.

“That depends on if you get an infection or not,” Duke sighed. “If we can get this under control, you could be out of here by the end of the week.”

He picked up Reid’s chart and wrote down the order for the antibiotics then he looked at the couple. “So, what do you two want to do about telling everyone your news?”

“I want to wait until Reid is out of the hospital,” Luke said as his husband looked at him.

“Are you sure?” Reid asked. “Everyone knows we’ve been trying.”

“I know, but we need to concentrate on you,” Luke said as he sat back in the chair. “It’s bad enough I’m at fault for you being here in the first place.”

Reid looked at his brother. “Can you give us a minute?”

“Sure,” Duke said as he put the chart down. “I’m going to have Allison get that antibiotic started. And I’ll keep the hordes away for a few minutes.”

“Thanks,” Reid said as Duke left.

Reid turned his head to look at his husband. “Luke, look at me.”

Luke slowly raised his head. Reid reached out his hand and Luke leaned forward in the chair to take it. “What happened yesterday was in no way, shape or form your fault. I would take getting shot any day over that maniac getting into Worldwide and shooting you instead. Because that’s what he wanted. He wanted you dead because he thought you were responsible for that happened to his son. And guess what? He was wrong. The only people who were responsible for what happened to Noah were himself and Damien. Noah was the one who tried to kill us and got put in prison for attempted murder and Damien was the one who killed him. All you had the misfortune of doing was date Noah and fall in love with him. That is until you came to your senses and fell in love with me.”

Luke smiled a little. Reid pulled on Luke’s hand until he came over and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m grateful that Colonel Mayer shot me.”

“What?” Luke asked shocked.

“If he hadn’t come here, he might have shown up at our house,” Reid said as he looked Luke in the eye. “He might have waited for you outside the Worldwide building. He might have shot you. If he had shot you, you might have lost the baby. If he had shot you, I might have lost both of you. And I will deal with being shot and possible infections over losing you and this baby we haven’t even gotten a chance to meet yet any day. You didn’t cause this, Luke. I don’t blame you for this. You got that.”

Luke just nodded as Reid pulled him into his arms. “I’m going to be all right,” he said as Luke nodded against his shoulder. “And we’re going to be parents. I think that scares me more than getting shot.”

Luke laughed a little. “Me too.”

“But we’ll be good at it,” Reid said as Luke nodded. “Hey, don’t go to sleep on me. Neither one of us will be comfortable in this bed.”

Luke sat up and Reid looked at him. “How much sleep did you get last night?”

“I had a hard time getting to sleep,” Luke admitted. “But Grandmother made me some warm milk and John gave me a sedative.”

“He gave you a sedative?” Reid said as he tried to sit up a little. “You said he and Duke know about the baby and he gave you a sedative?”

“Reid calm down,” Luke said as he eased his husband back into the bed. “He gave me a very mild sedative and promised that it wouldn’t hurt the baby. And I have to admit, if he hadn’t I might not have slept at all.”

Reid took a deep breath as Allison came in. “Duke said you needed an antibiotic. I didn’t want to interrupt but the sooner we get you started on this, the better chance we have of fighting off the infection.”

Reid just nodded as she came over and added the antibiotic to his IV. When she was done she looked at them. “Should I tell everyone they can come in now?”

“Yeah, sure,” Luke said as he gave Reid a smile. “If we don’t tell them soon, Margo and Katie may just come in anyway.”

Allison went out and a minute later, Margo and Andy came in. “I’m so glad to see you awake,” Margo said as she came over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Katie will be here soon. She was waiting for the sitter to come watch the kids.”

Reid nodded as he looked at his older brother. “You didn’t have to come because of me.”

“Who are you kidding?” Andy said as he gave his younger brother a look. “I had to come make sure you’re okay.”

“MJ has exams or he’d be here,” Margo said.

Luke got off the bed and went into the bathroom. Margo watched him as he shut the door. “Is he all right? He nearly fainted earlier.”

“He’s exhausted,” Reid sighed. “He didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. He said if it hadn’t been for Lucinda making him warm milk and John giving him a sedative, he might not have slept at all.”

Luke came back out a few minutes later and sat in his chair as people started to come and visit Reid. He fell asleep just before Bob and Kim came in. Duke came in not long after the older couple had arrived and looked around the room. “When I said Reid could have visitors, I didn’t know the entire population of Oakdale was going to show up.”  
Reid laughed a little then he grimaced in pain. “I guess I come by my bedside manner naturally, huh?”

“Whatever,” Duke said as he looked over and saw his brother-in-law sleeping. “How long has he been asleep?”

“Probably about half an hour.”

“He should go home.”

“We have to convince him of that.”

“Well, we could if…” Duke said as Reid gave him a look.

“If what?” Lily asked as she caught the look her son-in-law gave his brother. “Is something wrong with Luke?”

“No, he’s fine,” Reid said as he looked at her. “He’s exhausted. And not sleeping very well last night took it’s toll.”

“But there is something you’re keeping from us,” she said as Luke started to stir. She knelt beside him. “Luke, baby, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Mom,” he said as he sat up in the chair. 

“You need to go home and get some sleep,” Reid said as Luke shook his head.

“I’m fine, really,” he protested. 

“Luke,” Reid said as he gave him a look.

“I will sleep better when you’re home,” Luke said as he held Reid’s hand.

“I know, but I won’t be home for a few days at least. You need to take care of yourself. You know that.”

“Yeah, I do,” Luke sighed. “I do have a prescription, but I left it at the office yesterday when Tom and Casey came to get me.”

“Tell you what,” Duke said as he stepped forward. “I have to go home anyway. My boss frowns on his doctors working more than 24 hours straight. I’ll stop by your office and pick up your things and bring them to you. Will you be at home or at the farm?”

“He’ll be at the farm,” Holden said as Luke gave him a look. “Mama insists.”

Luke just nodded. He knew better than to argue with his grandmother. Reid squeezed his hand. “Go, be spoiled by your grandmother. I’ll be fine here.”

Luke looked at him for a minute before he nodded. He leaned over and gave Reid a kiss before Holden and Lily led him out of the room.


	19. Chapter 19

Reid and Luke decided it was time to tell their families about the baby. They decided to have a party to celebrate Reid’s recovery at their house. Once everyone was there, Reid went into the kitchen and got the champagne and sparkling grape juice. Margo looked at him. “Champagne for a party celebrating you surviving getting shot?”

“Not quite,” he grinned as he handed her a glass.

“You’re up to something.”

“Patience is a virtue dear sister,” he said as he handed out the rest of the drinks. He gave a glass of sparkling grape juice to Luke and took a glass for himself. He looked at their family and friends. “So, my wonderful older sister is a great detective but she is wrong about the reason for this party.”

“Not so much of the older,” Margo warned as he grinned at her.

“I know we told you we were celebrating my recovery, but that was just a ruse to get you here. We have a much better reason to celebrate.”

“What’s that?” Ethan asked.

Reid smiled at his youngest brother-in-law. “We’re celebrating the fact that you’re going to be an uncle.”

“I am?” Ethan asked as he looked at his parents then back at Reid. “How?”

“Reid and I are going to have a baby,” Luke said as his mother came over and gave him a hug. 

“Luke, that’s wonderful,” she said as everyone started to congratulate the couple. 

A week after the party, Reid was cleared to return to work, but he seemed reluctant to do so. Luke thought it was because he had been shot in his office. The morning Reid was supposed to go to work, Luke looked at him as he handed him his coffee. “Do you want the hospital to find you another office?”

“What?” Reid asked as he looked up from the file he had been reading. “Why would I want a new office?”

“Because you were shot in your office,” Luke said as he sat down across from his husband. “You’ve been on edge about going back to work. I thought it might have to do with the fact that you were shot in your office.”

“No,” Reid sighed as he put the file down and looked over at Luke. “Not really anyway. I know I will probably have some issues when I step back into that office, but I have to do it. If I don’t, Mayer wins.”

“I think he would have only considered it a win if he had killed you, or me.”

“Maybe, maybe not. All I know is I’m not anxious about going to work.”

“Then what are you anxious about?” Luke asked as he reached out and took Reid’s hand. 

Reid looked out the window for a minute then he looked back at Luke. “I don’t know. Maybe it does have to do with the shooting. Maybe I’m nervous about going back to work. Or maybe I just don’t want to leave you. I mean, the last three weeks we’ve been pretty much in our own little world. Now I’m going back to work and who knows what you’re going to be doing.”

“Working,” Luke said as he tried to give Reid a stern look.

Reid laughed. “Yeah, I’m going to have to be the disciplinarian when the baby gets old enough to start getting into trouble if that’s your stern face.”

Luke laughed. “I’m sure it will be the other way around. I’ll be the one who has to deal with punishments. You’ll be the fun dad.”

“Maybe,” Reid got up and gave Luke a kiss. “I’ll be fine. I know better than to tell you not to worry. Just remember that Chris and Duke will be there if anything happens. And I will call them, I promise. I’ll call you too. Now, I’ve got to get to work. I’ll see you tonight.”

Luke nodded as he watched Reid walk out of the kitchen. He knew he would be worried about his husband today, but he also knew that Reid had to go back to work. He had to deal with what happened in his office. Hopefully he wouldn’t forget that he had a support system behind him to help him through it.

When Reid arrived at the hospital, he was welcomed back by the doctors and nurses. He told them he was grateful they had welcomed him back so warmly but knew they all had work to do. He moved toward the elevator so he could go to his office when he saw Chris and Duke following him. “Don’t you two have work to do?” he asked.

“We thought we’d walk you up to your office,” Chris said as Duke hit the button for the elevator.

He looked at both of them. “You don’t have to do that. I’m not going to have some sort of breakdown when I go into my office.”

“Never said you were, Little Brother,” Duke said as they got on the elevator. 

When they got to Reid’s office, he hesitated for a split second before he opened the door. He walked in and noticed the couch had been replaced. He looked back at Duke who just shrugged. He went over to his desk and put his briefcase down. He looked at his friend and his brother as he put his hands on his desk. “I made it in here without having some sort of breakdown. I’m sure I can make it through the rest of the day without you two holding my hand. And since you have work to do, you don’t have time to sit here and babysit me anyway. I’ll be fine.”

“We’ll be around if you need us,” Duke said as he and Chris left him alone.

Reid waited until they had shut the door before he sat down in his chair. He looked back over at the couch and touched his stomach where he had been shot. He closed his eyes and tried to tune out the sound of Duke’s voice as he tried to stop Reid from bleeding to death. He tuned out the noises that had surrounded him before he had lost consciousness. He thought about Luke and their baby and the fact that he had survived. He was going to be a father and nothing Winston Mayer did that day would change that.  
He got the files out of his briefcase and signed what needed signing. Then he got his lab coat and went to start his rounds. He felt more and more confident as the day went on.


	20. Chapter 20

A few weeks passed and Reid was adjusting to being back at work very well. He had dealt with a couple of flashbacks but he knew it was normal. He was able to get through his first surgery after being back without any problems. It was at home that he started to act differently. 

When he was with Luke, he barely let his husband out of his sight. He wanted Luke to stay home from the office. He didn’t want Luke to go to a meeting in Chicago with Lily because he would have to spend the night. He would insist on driving Luke to work and picking him up afterwards. He even went to Worldwide every chance he got for lunch. 

Luke was halfway through his 2nd trimester when he got fed up with how Reid was acting. “Reid!” he said as his husband tried to tell him he couldn’t go to Springfield on business. “I’m only going to be gone for a couple of days. Mom is going with me. So is Dusty. We’re actually staying with the Spauldings. Alexandra Spaulding is an old friend of Grandmother’s and we’ll be at her family mansion. Do you want a day to day run down of my itinerary? Or do you want Margo to give you an ankle monitor so you can see where I am 24/7?” 

“Luke…” Reid said as Luke stormed up the stairs. He sighed as the doorbell rang and he went to answer it. “What?”

“I love you too,” Katie said as she gave him look before she came in.

“What are you doing here?” Reid asked as he shut the door. “And where are they munchkins?”

“They’re with Kim,” Katie said as she looked at her best friend. “Luke called me. He said you’re acting strange and it’s starting to scare him. Come on, we’re going to go talk while he packs for Springfield.”

“Kaite…” Reid started.

She grabbed his arm and headed for the door. “No arguments.”

They went to Al’s and Henry told them not to even look at the menu. He was going to bring them their favorites. Reid had to admit he had missed Al’s chili. After they had their food, Katie looked at Reid. “All right, tell me what’s going on in that brilliant mind of yours. Why are you not letting Luke out of your sight?”

“Now that’s just not true,” Reid argued. “I don’t have him in sight 24/7. I go to work and so does he.”

“But you have to know where he is and when he’ll be back,” she argued. “You were on edge the entire time he was in Chicago. You snapped at Duke and Chris. Duke was so concerned he stayed at your house until Luke got back. He said you paced the house all night. He couldn’t convince you to go to bed. You sat in the rocking chair you put in the nursery and held the bear you bought for hours on end. And the rocking chair is so far the only piece of furniture to grace that room with its presence. When you and Luke were at our house, you held on to Jacob and Nancy like they were going to disappear. The only thing I can think of is this has something to do with your shooting.”

“I don’t have PTSD,” Reid argued.

“I didn’t say you did,” she said as she held up her hand. “But let me ask you this. If you hadn’t been shot and Luke was getting ready to go to Springfield, would you be trying to talk him out of it?”

Reid thought about it for a minute, then he sighed. “I don’t know. I just don’t know anymore, Katie. All I know is I can’t protect him if I’m not with him. I can’t make sure he’s safe. I can’t make sure the baby’s safe. And I can’t lose them.”

“You’re not going to,” Katie said as she reached out and took his hand. “The threats are gone. Noah and his father and Damian are dead.”

“But what if they’re not the only threats?” Reid said softly. “What if next time they come after him instead of me? What if something happens and I’m not there to stop it? I can’t…”

Katie got up and went around to his side of the booth. She sat beside him and pulled him into her arms. She had never seen Reid break down like this. “You need to talk to Luke. You need to tell him this. He thinks you don’t think he can take care of himself and the baby. He thinks you don’t trust him.”

“I do trust him,” he said as he let go of Katie. “I trust him with my heart and soul. I trust him more than I’ve trusted anyone in my life ever.”

Katie took his face in her hands. “Tell him.”

Reid just nodded.

Katie dropped him off at the house and he walked in to see Luke sitting on the couch reading a baby book. “See, that’s how I know you’re going to be a better dad than me,” Reid said as Luke looked up. “You’re researching. You have experience taking care of Ethan. Me, I’m liable to forget the kid upstairs when I leave to go to work.”

“No you won’t,” Luke said softly. “You’ll be a better father than I could even imagine being. You know how to take care of yourself.”

“And so do you,” Reid said as he came over and sat down on the couch. “I’m sorry I’ve made you think that I don’t think you can take care of yourself and the baby. I know you can. I just need to protect you. I don’t know where the next threat will come from and it terrifies me. I can’t explain how frightened I get when you have to leave my sight. It’s not because I think you can’t take care of yourself. It’s because I think I can’t protect you. I’ve done a lousy job so far.”

“What are you talking about?” Luke said as he sat the book down and took his husband’s hand. “Reid, you were willing to let Colonel Mayer kill you instead of putting me in harm’s way. You confronted Damian to protect me. You couldn’t have predicted Noah would hit your car. You’ve done everything in your power to keep me safe. But Reid, you can’t wrap me in wool.”

“I want to,” Reid admitted. “I want to wrap you and the baby up in wool and make sure no one can hurt any of us ever again.”

“If you hadn’t been shot, would you feel this way?”

“I told Katie I didn’t know,” Reid sighed. “The honest answer is, probably not. I can’t help it Luke. With everything we’ve been through I can’t help but want to make sure you’re safe.”

“I feel the same way,” Luke said as he touched Reid’s cheek. “But I also know that you are an adult. I can’t tell you not to go to work because I’m scared because you got shot. I have to trust you to not do anything stupid. And you have to trust you.”

“I trust you,” Reid said as he touched Luke’s hand. “I trust you with my life and the life of our child. It’s other people I don’t trust.”

“Do you think you need to talk to someone about this?”

Reid sighed. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

“How about this,” Luke said as he got up. He went beside the couch and produced both his bag and Reid’s. “How about you go with me to Springfield? I already talked to Chris. He said you don’t have surgeries scheduled for the next few days. He said he could keep an eye on the hospital. After we finish in Springfield, Mom and Dusty can come back here and we can take some time to ourselves. We haven’t been able to do that since our honeymoon and soon this little one will be here and who knows when we’ll have time to ourselves.”

“I thought you didn’t want me to be with you 24/7,” Reid said as he looked down at his feet.

Luke came over and sat down next to him. “I don’t want you to treat me like I’m made of glass. I want us to be part of this together. I want us to get you through this together. I know you don’t want to talk to some stranger. I think we should get away, just the two of us. I think we should reconnect. Then, when you’re ready, we can talk about what happened and how it’s effected both of us. This baby is going to be here before we know it. Do you want to feel this way when the little one gets here?”

Reid reached out and touched Luke’s stomach. He felt their baby moving and smiled. “All I want is for us to be a family. All right, I’ll go with you. Just remember I’m not always nice to people I’ve just met.”

“I’m sure the Spauldings are used to personalities like yours,” Luke grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're not sure who the Spauldings are, they were one of the main families on Guiding Light. I can picture Alexandra Spaulding and Lucinda Walsh being good friends. They have a lot in common. I know others have crossed over ATWT with Another World because Jake McKinnon was from that show, but I never really watched that one. The Spauldings may show up again. So might the Newmans from Y&R.


	21. Chapter 21

After Luke finished his business in Springfield, he and Reid went to Chicago. They took in the city and enjoyed the time to reconnect as a couple without family or friends coming over all the time. Reid didn’t realize how much he needed this time with Luke until it was time to go home. He didn’t really want to leave their hotel room. Luke just laughed and said they had to go home sometime or else their family would come looking for them.

Time passed and they got the house ready for their new arrival. Reid managed to talk Katie out of the baby shower she had been planning. Instead everyone dropped off their gifts off on their own time. As Luke’s due date approached, Reid started to get overprotective again. He didn’t want Luke to be left alone.

Luke compromised. He agreed to stay out at the farm while Reid was at work. He reasoned there was always someone at the farm should anything happen. So Reid would drop Luke off in the mornings before he went to the hospital, they would have dinner at the farm and then they would go home. Reid thought it was a win/win. He was assured someone was with Luke and he got to eat Emma’s cooking every night.

A week before the baby was due, there was a storm warning. There were going to be severe thunderstorms going through Oakdale. Caleb and Holden came in from the barn. “We’re going to need some help getting the horses secured,” Holden said as he looked at his mother. “Aaron’s on his way, but I told him if the storm got too bad to stay home.”  
Emma looked over at Luke. “Go ahead, Grandma,” he said as he smiled at her. “I’ll be okay on my own. Besides, Reid will be here soon. Dad and Uncle Caleb need the help.”  
“All right,” she said as she took her apron off. “But you come and get us if you need anything.”

Luke just nodded and watched them walk out of the kitchen. He let out a breath as he put his hand underneath his stomach. “Okay, we just need to hold out until Reid gets here. He’ll get us to the hospital.”

He felt a strong contraction and gasped. “I hope.”

Nearly an hour had passed before Reid pulled up in the yard. He got out just as the rain started to pour. He looked over and saw Holden coming out of the barn. He could see Emma and Caleb inside. “Who’s with Luke?” he asked.

“He’s in the kitchen,” Holden said. “Aaron was on his way. He may be in there with him.”

“Or he could be on his own,” Reid said as he ran to the house, his father-in-law right behind him. “Luke!” he called as he went in. “Luke where are you?!”

“I’m here,” Luke’s voice came from near the counter.

Holden and Reid stopped and saw Luke laying on the floor leaning against the counter. Reid fell to his knees beside his husband. “Luke?”

“The baby’s coming,” Luke said as he grabbed Reid’s arm.

“Okay,” Reid said as he tried to stay calm. “We can still get you to the hospital. I know the storm has started but….”

There was a loud siren followed by Caleb, Emma and Aaron running into the kitchen. “There’s a tornado warning,” Emma said as she stopped and took in the scene. “Oh Luke.”

“We need to get him to the hospital,” Reid said as he looked at his in-laws.

“We can’t,” Caleb said as Reid glared at him. “Reid, that siren meant that a tornado has been spotted. We can’t risk trying to get him to the hospital in these conditions.”

“Okay,” Reid said as he took a breath. “Okay, we can’t get him to the hospital. And trying to get him upstairs might not be a good idea with a tornado coming. But the kitchen floor?”

“Why not?” Holden laughed as he knelt by Luke’s other side. “It’s where Luke was born.”

“I thought you guys were just kidding when you told that story,” Reid said as he looked at them.

“Reid!” Luke cried.

Reid spun to look at Luke. “Okay, okay, we can do this. I did a rotation in obstetrics while I was in med school. Let me think.” 

He looked around the room. “Emma, I need hot water to sterilize scissors and string for the cord. Caleb, I need a blanket for the baby and towels to clean him up with. Aaron, try to call Dr. Addison. If nothing else, she will be able to talk me through this. Luke, do you want your dad to stay?”

Luke just nodded. Reid looked at Holden. “Grab something to put over his legs. I know you delivered him and you changed his diapers, but they didn’t.”

Holden just nodded and grabbed a tablecloth out of the drawer. After they had draped it over Luke’s legs, Reid took Luke’s shoes off, followed by his pants. “Has your water broken yet?”

“No,” Luke gasped. 

“Okay, the contractions are coming pretty fast,” Reid said as he rubbed Luke’s legs. “I wouldn’t be surprised if your water doesn’t break soon. I know this isn’t how either one of us planned it.”

“It’s okay,” Luke said as Emma came over with some ice. 

“I crushed it as best I could,” she said as she gave a spoonful to her grateful grandson. She handed the glass and spoon to Holden then got up. “I’ll take Caleb and Aaron to the parlor. I just took the string out of the water so it’s dry when you need it. The scissors are still in there.”

“Thank you, Emma,” Reid said as she touched Luke’s cheek. 

Aaron came over. “Dr. Addison said she can’t come to the phone. She’s got an emergency C-section to do.”

“All right,” Reid sighed. “Get your grandmother and uncle and get into the cellar. I know Emma said you would go to the parlor but you’ll be safer in the cellar.”

“What about you?” Aaron said as he looked at his younger brother.

“We can’t move Luke. And the kitchen floor will be more sanitary than the cellar. We’ve got the counter to give us some protection. Go Aaron.”

Aaron went over to Caleb and Emma and led them out of the kitchen. Reid turned back to Luke. “I’m going to go ahead and pull your underwear off now.”

Luke just nodded as Reid pulled the garment off. Reid grinned a little. “Not as much fun as the last time I did that.”

“Reid, my dad’s right there,” Luke blushed.

“Luke, I think the ship has sailed on him not knowing we have sex,” Reid said as Holden laughed.

“Yeah, but I don’t need details, Reid,” Holden said as Luke squeezed his hand.

“Okay, I think things are speeding up,” Reid said as he lifted the tablecloth so he could check on Luke’s progress. “Your water just broke. Holden, hand me a couple of towels.”

Holden gave him the towels and Reid looked at Luke. “We’re almost there.”

They heard something break in the yard. Reid looked at Luke. “Sounds like I need new windows in my car.”

“Or maybe just a new car,” Luke ground out as he tried to turn over onto his side.

“Luke, are you more comfortable like that?” Reid asked as he held his hand up to Holden. Holden was about to try to straighten Luke up.

“For now,” Luke huffed. “I’d be more comfortable in a bed.”

“I know,” Reid said as he started rubbing Luke’s back. Holden backed up a little and let them have this time. “I didn’t picture us greeting our baby on a kitchen floor. I thought that new birthing suite at Memorial with that crazy view you like so much. Maybe I should have taken you with me when I went in today.”

“No, it’s okay,” Luke said as he turned his head and smiled at his husband. “It’s right that the baby is going to be born here. Like Dad said, I was.”

Reid gave Luke a quick kiss before another contraction took over. “Reid, I need to push.”

Reid backed up and took another look as Holden took back his place at Luke’s side. “Okay, go ahead, sweetheart. You’re ready.”

Reid wasn’t sure how he managed to get Luke through the process of giving birth to their baby. He knew his voice broke when he told Luke he could see the baby’s head. He nearly cried when he realized the baby had his hair. Then the next thing he knew he was holding a squirming newborn in his arms. “Holden, get the scissors and the string.”

Holden leaned Luke against the counter and got the things Reid needed. Reid made quick work of the cord. Then he took the washcloth Holden offered him and gently cleaned off the baby. After the baby was clean, he wrapped his new child in a blanket and smiled at his husband. “So you ready to meet the kid who’s been kicking you the last couple of months?”

“More than anything,” Luke said as he held his arms out.

Reid gave the baby to Luke who smiled at the newborn. Luke looked up at his father. “Dad, meet your grandson.”

“Luke, he’s perfect,” Holden said as he stood up. He looked out the window. “Looks like the storm has passed. Do you want them to go to the hospital?”

Reid looked at his husband and newborn son. He wanted them to be healthy but he didn’t want to move them from the farm. “Can you call Chris? See if he can come out and take a look at the baby. I’ll take a look at Luke when we get him upstairs.”

Holden nodded as Reid replaced the tablecloth with a blanket. “I know you’ve got to be cold on that floor. We’ll get you upstairs as soon as we can.”

Luke just nodded as he kept his eyes on his son. “He looks like you.”

Reid sat beside him on the floor. “You think so?”

Luke smiled at his husband. “Oh yeah. He’s got your nose and your hair.”

“He’s got your mouth,” Reid stated. “And your chin.”

The baby’s eyes opened. “And it looks like he’s got your eyes too. For now anyway. That could change.”

“Probably won’t,” Luke said as Emma came in and went straight over to them.

“Oh, Luke, let me see that precious baby,” she said as Luke turned the baby so his great-grandmother could see him.

“It’s a boy,” he grinned as Caleb and Aaron joined them.


	22. Chapter 22

“Oh, sweetheart, he’s beautiful,” Emma cried.

“Can you take him while I get Luke upstairs?” Reid asked.

“Of course,” Emma said as Luke reluctantly handed over his son. “Caleb, can you get the portable crib out of the living room and take it upstairs for Luke.”

“Yes Mama,” Caleb said as he went to the living room. 

Reid got up and lifted Luke into his arms. His exhausted husband draped an arm around Reid’s neck. Aaron opened the door to the stairs and held it for his brother-in-law. Reid carefully carried Luke upstairs and to the bathroom. “We need to get you cleaned up before you can go to bed,” Reid said as he turned on the shower.

Luke nodded as Emma took the baby into the bedroom. Caleb and Holden came up with the portable crib and got it set up in the bedroom while Reid got Luke cleaned up. Emma knocked on the door and said she was putting some clothes for Luke on the table outside the door. She also said she was going to start dinner while Caleb and Aaron checked on the farm after the tornado and Holden called Lily and John to let them know the baby had arrived.

After Reid helped Luke out of the bathtub and got him dressed, he took Luke into the bedroom. “Go ahead and get some sleep. Chris will be here soon to make sure everything is good with junior over there. We can tell everyone his name when your mother gets here.”

“And John,” Luke said as he yawned. “He’s on his way too.”

“I know,” Reid said as he sat on the bed. He stroked Luke’s hair. “You did good down there. I know you were scared, but you didn’t show it.”

“Neither did you,” Luke said as he took Reid’s hand. “You were scared too.”

“Hey, we just became parents for the first time. I think we’re entitled to be scared. Now, you go to sleep. I’m going to go downstairs and get a bottle for the little guy. If he’s anything like me he’s going to be hungry and we know what I’m like when I’m hungry.”

Luke just grinned as he drifted off to sleep. Reid went over to the crib and picked up the baby. He went downstairs and saw Emma was already heating up a bottle. “You read my mind,” Reid said as he sat down at the table.

He looked around the kitchen. “You can’t tell anyone gave birth on this floor.”

“Aaron helped me clean up,” Emma said as she came over with the bottle. Is Luke asleep?”

“Yeah, he was out about a minute after I got him into the bed,” Reid said as he watched his son eat. “I still can’t believe this little one is here.”

“I know what you mean,” Emma said as she sat beside him. “It seems like only yesterday that Luke was born.”

She laughed a little. “Of course it seems like only yesterday that Holden was born. Now he’s a grandfather and Luke’s a father. And me…”

“And you are the youngest looking woman in this family,” Reid said as he smiled at her.

“You’re just saying that because I bake you pies.”

“No, I say it cause it’s true,” he said as he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. The baby objected to being temporarily relieved of his dinner. Reid laughed. “Yeah, he defiantly takes after me.”

They heard the door open and looked up to see Lily come in. “Oh my goodness,” she said as she came over to her son-in-law and the baby in his arms. “Oh Reid, he’s beautiful.”

“That he is,” Reid said as the baby finished his bottle. Lily was surprised when Reid took the cloth Emma had placed beside him and placed it over his shoulder before burping the baby. He gave her a look. “Did you forget I lived with Katie when Jacob wasn’t much older than this? I’ve burped a baby before, Lily.”

She ducked her head. “I think I did forget. Is Luke upstairs?”

“Yeah, but he’s asleep,” Reid said as Chris and John came in. “Let Chris give this little guy the once over then the grandparents can go gaga. And no, I won’t tell you his name until after Luke’s awake.”

He got up and led Chris into the living room. John looked at Lily. “You know, when I met you and your mother I never for the life of me imagined that we would share a grandchild.”

Lily laughed. “Neither did I. Speaking of Mother, where is she?”

“She’s on her way,” John said as they sat down at the table. “We had some damage from the tornado at the estate. It looks like the carriage house was destroyed.”

“Luke won’t be sad to hear that,” Lily sighed.

A few minutes later, Chris and Reid came back in and Reid gave Lily her grandson. Chris said the baby was perfectly healthy. Lucinda, Katie and Margo arrived at the house and met the newest member of the family. Emma had anticipated an onslaught of family so she had planned ahead when she started dinner. 

Everyone looked up when they heard the door to the stairs open and Luke come into the kitchen. Reid jumped up from where he was sitting. “What are you doing up?”

“I got up to go to the bathroom and I thought I’d come see my baby,” Luke grinned. “Who’s got him?”

“I think his Aunt Margo has him right now,” Reid said as he directed Luke to a chair.

Margo came over and gave the baby to his father. “He’s beautiful, Luke.”

“Thanks,” he said as he smiled at his sister-in-law then looked at his son. “Okay, today was enough of a surprise for the next few years. Deal?”

“Holden said he had been born here,” Lily said as she looked at her son. “I thought the tornado would have kept you from going upstairs.”

“It did,” Luke said as he grinned at his mother. “You never told me how hard it is to give birth on the kitchen floor.”

“You’re kidding,” she said as Holden came over and put his hand on her shoulder. 

“Nope,” he grinned. “Our grandson was born in almost the exact same spot as our son.”

“Speaking of our grandson,” John said as he looked at Reid and Luke. “I assume he has a name.”

Reid looked at Luke, who nodded. “Yes he does. You will be happy to know our son’s name is Matthew. Matthew Holden John Snyder-Oliver.”

“We decided when we found out we were having a boy that we would name him after all of our fathers,” Luke said as John nodded and Lucinda took his hand.

“Well, I know John and I are honored,” Holden said as Lily reached up and squeezed his hand. “I’m sure Matthew would have been too.”

Reid went to check on their house the next day. He and John cleaned up the yard from where some tree limbs had collapsed. John told his son that he was honored that they had included his name in the baby’s name, but he would have understood if they had just included Matthew and Holden. Reid looked at this man who had turned his life upside down and put his hand on his shoulder. “You’re my father. You are just as much my father as Matthew Oliver was. And hopefully I’ll have more than six years with you. You gave me the space I needed to come to terms with the truth. And you gave me something my parents couldn’t. You gave me siblings. Of course I was going to include you when I named my son. Now, had he been born right after I found out you were my father, it might have been a different story.”

John nodded. “So, think the place is ready for my son-in-law and grandson?”

“Yeah, let’s go bring them home,” Reid said as they left to go to the farm and bring his family home.

Luke and Reid spent the first night in their house staring at their son as he slept in the crib by their bed. They knew their adventure was just starting. That was good, because the world would never stop turning.


End file.
